
JAMES A. (iAl^FTELD. 



THE 



Life and Death 



JAMES A. GARFIELD 



PROM THE 

TOW PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE 

TOGETHER WITH A 

Complete Account of his Assassination ; History of Charles J. Gfuiteau, 

the assassin; The Comments of the Press on the Assassination/ 

The Feeling throughout the Country ; Words of Sympathy 

from all parts of the World; Voices from the Pulpit^ 

including Sermons by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, 

Rev. Dr. Storrs, Rev. Robert S. McArthur, 

Rev. Dr. J. P. Newman, and other 

Prominent Clergymen 



CINCINNATI 
CIlSrCINlSrATI PUBI^ISHHSTGh CO. 

174 West Fourth Stkeet 



Copyright, 1881, 






COISTTEITTS. 



PASS 

The Shooting of the President. 29 

History of the Assassin 100 

The Effect throughout the Country 131 

Comments of the Press 174 

Words of Sympatliy 203 

Voices from the Pulpit 220 

The Eighty Days' Struggle for Life 242 

Death of the President 258 

Funeral Services at Washington 290 

The Last Sad Journey 301 

The Martyr Laid at Rest 315 

Mourning in Europe 340 

Sermons by Prominent Clergymen 345 

Memorial Services at the Brooklyn (N. Y.) Tabernacle 385 

Life of James A. Garfield 396 

Life of Chester A. Arthur 432 

Assassination of Lincoln 457 



ILLUSTEATIO]:>I"S. 



PAOXS 

Portrait of James A, Garfield 1 

Portrait of James A. Garfield's Mother 75 

Portrait of Charles J. Guiteau 100 

Last Letter written by the President 247 

Chart showing Pulse, Temperature, and Respiration 255 

Elberon Cottage, where the President died 262 

Portrait of Mrs. James A. Garfield 409 

Home of James A. Garfield at Mentor, Ohio 430 

Portrait of Chester A. Arthur 432 



HISTORY OF THE 



ASSASSINATION OF PRESDENT GARFIELD, 



WAS TO ACCOMPANY THE PARTY PREPARATIONS FOR A 

JOYOUS TIME COMPLETED. 

James A. Garfield, the President of the United States and 
the subject of this history, had determined to take two weeks' 
relaxation from his important duties, and had invited the mem- 
bers of the Cabinet and their ladies with several other friends to 
accompany him. 

The party was to leave Washington Saturday, July 2, 1881, 
at 9.30 a.m., on the limited express train from the Baltimore 
and Potomac Depot, in the city of Washington, for an extended 
journey through New England. The party was to comprise the 
President and Mrs. Garfield, who was to meet him in New York, 
their two elder sons, Harry and James, Miss Mollie Garfield, 
their daughter, who is now with her mother ; Colonel and Mrs. 
Rockwell, with Don Rockwell, their son, and Miss Lulu Rock- 
well, their daughter ; Dr. W. H. Hawkes, the classical tutor of 
the three young gentlemen above named ; the Secretary of the 
Treasury and Mrs. Windom; Postmaster-General James and 
Mrs. James, the Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Hunt, the Sec- 
retary of War, Judge Advocate General Swaim and Colonel 
Jamison, of the Post Office Department. From New York they 
were to go directly to Irvington, on the Hudson, where they 
were to spend Sunday. On Monday morning they were to go 
to Williamstown, Mass., to attend the commencement exercises 
of Williams College, of which the President is a graduate. 
They were to remain there until Thursday noon, and then take 
the cars for St. Albans, Vt., spending Friday at that place. 
From there they were to go to the White Mountains, staying at 



30 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Maplewood or Bethlehem, and remaining over Sunday. On 
Monday they were to go to the top of Mount Washington, and 
on Tuesday to Portland, Me. ; from thence to Augusta, where 
they were to be the guests of Secretary Blaine. The Secretary 
had secured a revenue cutter, and the party were to take a trip 
along the Maine coast, visiting Mount Desert and other places 
of interest. They were then to return to Bangor, Me., and 
from there to Boston. The Legislature of New Hampshire, 
having by resolution invited the President to make them a visit, 
the party was to go to Concord. From there they were to go 
to New Concord, Mass., then begin the homeward trip, going 
to New York by way of Hartford and New Haven, expecting to 
get back to this city about the 17th or 18th of July. 

THE PRESIDENT SHOT DOWN. 

This was the programme marked out for a pleasant vacation, 
and the last of the party to complete it had not arrived when 
the twenty minutes past nine a.m. train, preceding the limited 
express, departed from the depot. A few moments later the 
President's carriage drove in front of the depot, and the Presi- 
dent and his only companion. Secretary Blaine, alighted and 
both entered the depot by the main entrance on B Sstreet. 
There was a slight pause on the steps, and a moment later the 
President and Secretary of State, side by side, were walking 
across the ladies' reception room, in which there was not at the 
time half a dozen persons. One of these was a man of short 
stature, a wicked expression in his face, who moved about 
nervously until the two statesmen had half crossed the recep- 
tion room, a distance of not more than ten feet from the door. 
A report as of a big fire-cracker challenged the attention of the 
policemen at the main door, who thought some boy had fired it 
in honor of the President's departure. Instantly another report 
was heard, and President Garfield lay prostrate upon the floor of 
the reception room, wounded in the right arm and in the side 
just above the hip. The first ball from the assassin's revolver 
struck the President near the left shoulder and passed out by 
the shoulder blade ; the second struck him in the back over the 
left kidney. The President turned at the first shot and fell 
forward on his knees at receiving the second bullet. Post- 
master-General James and others of his party who had preceded 
him rushed to his assistance. The assassin was instantly over- 
powered and arrested. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 31 

The mysterious nervous individual was Charles J. Guiteau, 
about forty years of age, who had been imploring the President 
to give him a consulate in France. His excited condition had 
changed in the presence of his intended victim, and he stood as 
firm and as calm as a statue, the " English bull-dog" pistol still 
drawn and in his right hand. Secretary Blaine had, in turning 
the corner of the seat near the main entrance to the hall of the 
depot, gone just a little ahead of the President. The first shot 
not being noticed by the President or his companion, the second 
and the fatal one found Mr. Blaine on the sill of the door, who 
instantly called for help. It is believed that the second shot 
was intended for Secretary Blaine. Guiteau wanted to be Con- 
sul at Paris. Last fall he bored Blaine with simple-minded 
letters proposing to take the stump in Maine, and was not 
regarded as a useful man in the campaign. He has been 
stopping at the Riggs House, and has shown no peculiarities 
during his stay to lead to the belief that he is of unsound mind. 
Secretary Blaine's private secretary says, from what he knows of 
the persistent appeals of Guiteau, that he must have intended to 
shoot Blaine. The second shot gave him a very narrow escape. 

GREAT EXCITEMENT AT THE DEPOT. 

Colonel Jamison, who was to have had charge of the Presi- 
dent's party, was the first to communicate the sad news to the 
Cabinet officers. From the scene to the rear of the train was a 
distance of perhaps two hundred feet. As though drawn by an 
invisible power, the Presidential party in a second was surging 
towards the room where the prostrate form of the President hiy. 
Five members of the Cabinet were then present, Messrs. Blaine, 
Windom, Lincoln, Hunt, and James. In a few minutes Attor- 
ney-General McVeagh, who was at his office when the deed was 
done, had arrived. The President's son Harry, scarcely realiz- 
ing what had happened, for but little blood fell from the 
wounds, stood ready to fight or die in his father's defence. 
The scene beggars description. A beautiful summer morn, 
warm and tranquil as the face of nature in early spring, encour- 
aged the brightest thoughts and happiest feelings in the hearts 
of the company that was to journey with the President. Now 
their countenances were black with sorrow. *' President Gar- 
field assassinated !" exclaimed Secretary Hunt. " Impossible !" 
No, if a meteoric stone had singled him out as its victim it 
could not be more improbable. Secretary Lincoln realized in 



32 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

an instant his position. The son of an assassinated President 
and the Secretary of War of another victim by the assassin's 
hand, he quickly gave the order for the troops stationed at the 
arsenal to hold themselves for immediate orders. The same 
was done by the Secretary of the Navy, who directed that the 
marines should be held for similar orders. Meanwhile word 
was sent to Surgeon-General Barnes, Drs. Norris, Lincoln, and 
Woodward, requiring their immediate presence at the depot. 
With the messengers trooping over the pavements it was not 
long before every part of Washington was informed of what 
had happened, and the fact became generally known. Then a 
crowd soon assembled, and in less than ten minutes Sixth Street 
and B Street were packed with people, and the news of the 
horrible affair flew from mouth to mouth and spread over 
the city like wildfire. An attempt was made to rush into the 
building, and cries were raised to lynch the assassin ; but a strong 
force of policemen, summoned by telephone, had arrived 
promptly on the scene and preserved order. In the mean time 
the President had been carried to a room up-stairs and the phy- 
sicians summoned. 

POLICEMAN Kearney's story. 

Policeman Kearney, of the Island precinct, who first tried 
to arrest the assassin, makes the following statement of the 
shooting : 

Guiteau arrived at the depot about half an hour ahead of 
the Presidential party, and moved about and acted quite rest- 
lessly. The officer's attention was attracted by his movements, 
but he did not watch the assassin particularly until he heard 
him ask a hackman at the Sixth Street depot if he could drive 
him off in a hurry if required. " I thought," said Kearney, 
" that that was a peculiar thing, but before I could follow it up 
closer I saw the President's party driving down Sixth Street to 
the depot, and I had to go and look after them. They drove 
to the B Street entrance. Secretary Blaine was with the Presi- 
dent, and the two entered the depot together. The President 
walked up to me, and asked how much time he had before the 
train left. It was twenty minutes after nine o'clock I saw by 
looking at my watch, and I told the President that he had ten 
minutes. Just as he thanked me I heard a pistol shot, and 
turning, I snw the man that I had been watching previously 
standing about ten feet away, in the shadow of the main 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. >^33 

entrance to tlie waiting-room, levelling his pistol across his arm. 
He fired a second shot before I could speak to him, and darted 
between myself and the President and Secretary Blaine into 
the street. The President reeled and fell just in front of me. 
As he fell he said something I could not exactly understand, 
and Secretary Blaine, with a terrified look, pushed towards him, 
exclaiming, ' My God, he has been murdered ! What is the 
meaning of this ? ' 

" ' In God's name, man,' I shouted, ' what did you shoot the 
President for ? ' " 

JAMES R. young's STATEMENT. 

Mr. James R. Young, of the Philadelphia Star, says of the 
occurrence : " I reached the depot of the Baltimore and Poto- 
mac Railroad at about nine o'clock, intending to take the limited 
express train for New York. It leaves at half-past nine. I 
found the depot full of people, some going south, some west, 
and others on the train I was to take north. I passed through 
the ladies' reception room, where the shooting took place, to the 
main or general reception room, where tlie ticket office is located. 
After purchasing my ticket I proceeded immediately to the 
train, which was standing on the track south of the main build- 
ing of the depot, say about a hundred yards from the ladies' 
reception room. After locating my seat in the car I descended 
to the depot platform. There I met Mr. Barclay, the old journal 
clerk of the House, and Messrs. Kilburn and Adams of the 
newspaper press of the city, who were about to leave with their 
families for the north. We stood just opposite the special train 
which was waiting for the President. In it were some dozen 
people, more than half of whom were ladies, the wives, sons, 
and daughters of Secretaries Windom and Hunt, Postmaster- 
General James, Colonel Rockwell, and others of the Presidential 
party. They were a merry party, laughing and joking with the 
numerous friends who had come down to see them off for a 
fortnight's holiday and frolic. Soon Secretaries Windom and 
Hunt came out of the car and began promenading up and down 
the platform, quietly smoking their cigars. Later Postmaster- 
General James alighted from the car and joined our party. 

" NEWS THAT HORRIFIED. 

"We began congratulating him and ourselves that we were 
to escr.pe the fearfully hot weather, and were trying to joke hiit: 

2* 



g4 TBJS ASSASSINATION OF^ 

about the administration leaving business for pleasure, when a. 
young man stepped up to Mr. James and said to him, excitedly, 
that the President had been shot. 

" Mr. James turned and said, * What ! There is no joke in a 
thing like that.' 

" His informant, almost scared to death, replied, * I assure 
you it is true.' 

" Without another word Mr. James turned and ran to the 
depot building, and we all naturally followed him. When I 
reached the ladies' reception rooms the doors were being closed. 
There were at least two hundred people in and around the 
building, and I began to inquire if the news I had heard was 
true. It took only a moment to find out that it was. I could 
not gain admission at the inside door of the room where the 
President was, so I ran out into the street, hoping to be more 
successful at the street entrance. There I found a big crowd 
already gathered, and a policeman and some others hurriedly 
hustling a man outside. This was the assassin. I did not fol- 
low, as my desire was to learn the extent of the President's 
wound. Not being able to gain admittance at the door, I saw 
an open window, say about ten feet from the ground. A 
colored newsboy was climbing in, and I concluded to follow 
suit. It was not more than a half minute's work before I got 
inside. The first person I saw was Secretary Windom. He was 
standing alone, as pale as death, and the tears were trickling 
down his cheeks. Knowing him well I said : 

" ' Mr. Secretary, where is the President, and what does this 
mean ? ' 

" He replied, * There he lies in yonder corner in that group. 
It is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you.' 

" I moved over about two yards, and there I saw the President 
lying on a mattress which had been hastily brought from the 
sleeping apartments of one of the depot employees. There 
were probably thirty people around him, many of whom were 
women, who had been waiting for the southern trains. 

" Secretary Blaine had hold of one of the President's hands, 
and Postmaster-General James was assisting to get him into a 
sitting posture. His face showed a deathly paleness, and he 
had a look of surprise, as if caused by pain and despair. He 
was vomiting and seemed to have no control of himself. His 
coat and vest had been ripped from him and his trousers loos- 
ened. The matter he had vomited had fallen on his shirt 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 35 

below the bosom, which made it seem as if the ball of the 
assassin had penetrated the intestines. Near him was his son, 
a lad of sixteen. Poor boy, he was almost beside himself. 
He vvriiiig his hands and cried in a piteous manner. With him 
were the son of Colonel Rockwell, and Secretary Hunt, who, 
in every way natural to human beings, were trying to comfort 
him. In less than ten minutes Secretary Blaine gave orders to 
have the President removed to the upper floor of tlie depot, to 
the officers' room, where there would be plenty of air and a 
freedom from the mob which was rapidly gathering. Colonel 
Rockwell and Adjutant-General Corbin soon made a passage- 
way, and the President was borne by a number of the colored 
porters of the depot to the upper floor. I waited down-stairs, 
and in about half an hour he was carried down, placed in an 
ambulance, and under a strong guard of mounted police was 
driven to the White House. I immediately left the depot and 
hurriedly went up Pennsylvania Avenue. Although it was not 
an hour since the shooting took place, I found the avenue 
crowded with people, some standing in groups, regardless of the 
broiling hot sun, discussing the event, others hurrying towards 
the depot, and others pushing and rushing and wending their 
way no one knows where." 

WHAT A PASSENGER SAW. 

Mr. Everett Foss, of Dover, N. H., who was in the gentle- 
men's room at the depot at the time of the shooting, says: 
"At twenty-two minutes past nine a.m., two shots in rapid suc- 
cession rang through the depot, startling people who were 
gathered there waiting the movement of the train, and to wit- 
ness the departure of the Presidential party. Almost at the 
same instant Secretary Blaine rushed from the ladies' room and 
called for an officer. The cry of murder came through an open 
door at the same time. In a moment Officer Kearney, of the 
Metropolitan police force, appeared with the assassin, who 
waved in his hand a letter, which he vociferated he wanted 
delivered to General Sherman. On entering the room I found 
General Garfield with his head resting upon the lap of the lady 
in charge of the room, with Secretary Blaine bending over b:m, 
exclaiming, ' O my poor President ! ' " 

STATEMENT OF THE LADIES' ATTENDANT. 

Mrs. White, the woman in charge of the ladies' waiting room, 



36 THE ASSASSINATION OH 

was an eye-witness to all that transpired, and the first to reach 
the President. She is a modest little woman, petite in form, 
has a narrow face, but very intelligent countenance, light brown 
hair, and blue eyes. She was attired in a becomingly trimmed 
black alpaca dress with white apron, and large lace bow at the 
neck. She gives her account of the affair as follows : 

" I was standing in the ladies' room, and saw the President 
as he entered in company with Secretary Blaine. The latter 
had stepped a little in advance as they entered the door, as if 
to give the President more room. I had noticed this man Gui- 
teau lounging around the ladies' room for a half hour before 
the arrival of the President. I did not like his appearance 
from the first time I saw him. It is my business to see that 
such characters do not loaf around the ladies' room, and I 
thought seriously of having him pointed out to our watchman, 
Mr. Scott, so that he should be made stay in the gentlemen's 
room. When the President and Secretary Blaine entered he 
was standing near the entrance door. He wheeled to the left 
and fired, evidently aiming for the heart. It was a quick shot 
and struck the President in the left arm. The President did 
not at first seem to realize that he had been struck, although 
Secretary Blaine instantly stepped to one side as though dazed 
at this unexpected movement. The President then partly 
turned around and the assassin advancing two steps fired the 
second time — the whole thing being the work of a few 
moments. The President advanced one step, then fell to the 
floor. I ran to him at once and raised his head and held it in 
that position until some gentlemen came, and we remained 
until his son came from the car where he was seated, with the 
rest of the Presidential party, awaiting the arrival of his father. 
The entire party followed him to the scene, and a large crowd 
gathered about the prostrate form very quickly. "When I had 
a chance to look about me I saw Guiteau trying to wrench his 
arm from those who held him. When the President fell it was 
about twenty-five minutes past nine a.m. There was no blood 
visible. A mattress was brought in, and the President was 
removed to the upper floor of the depot. The President had 
on a light drab travelling suit and a silk hat, which latter was 
badly battered in the fall. When I ran to him he was deathly 
pale, but perfectly conscious. In about two or three minutes 
he vomited. His son was kneeling beside him at this time. 
He asked me if I saw who shot his father, and I replied, * Yes, 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 37 

and he is caught.' He said somebody would have to pay for this. 
The young man and I thought the President was dying, so pale 
was he. He tried to raise his head and get his hand on the 
wound near the thigh, but he was too weak to do so. I noticed 
Guiteau at the depot either early this week or the latter part of 



ANOTHER WHO SAW THE ASSASSINATION. 

Mr. Parks, the ticket agent at the depot, was the first person 
to lay hands upon the assassin. Mr. Parks, when questioned in 
regard to the sad occurrence, said : " I had been watching for the 
arrival of the President through the small window between my 
office and the ladies' waiting room, and saw this man Guiteau, 
who was a small man, slight in physique, with short pointed 
beard on his chin. His movements were those of an uneasy, 
nervous man. At that time there were but few persons present, 
and nearly all ladies. I was attracted by the report of a pistol. 
I immediately peered into the ladies' room and saw the assassin, 
pistol in hand, standing about two feet inside of the entrance 
door. I saw him advance two paces and fire the second shot. 
The President had then advanced more than half way across 
the room on his way to the train. Secretary Blaine slightly in 
advance. The President turned around, after receiving the first 
wound in the shoulder, and received the second shot in the region 
of the thigh, towards the back. There was an interval of about 
four seconds between the first and second shots. Just as soon as 
the second shot was fired 1 took in the situation, and ran out of 
the office for the purpose of securing the assassin. In the 
mean time Guiteau tried to make his escape by the main door 
on Sixth Street, but being headed oS he turned to make away 
by the exit of the ladies' room on C Street, when I grappled 
him by the left hand and the left shoulder, and held him until 
Officer Kearney and Depot Watchman Scott came to my assist- 
ance in a few moments, the former holding him by the right 
shoulder and the latter securing him by his clothing in the 
back. He said that this letter which he held in his hand and 
flourished frantically about his head was going to General 
Sherman and explained all. When I first laid my hand on him 
he made desperate efforts to release himself, but upon finding 
that it was useless be subsided." 



38 ^SB ASSASSINATION OF 



THE PATIENT AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

It was evident that whatever was to be done must be 
done quickly, and as it would be impossible to proceed with 
medical and surgical treatment at the depot, it was decided to 
remove the wounded President to the mansion. Carefully the 
mattress on which he lay was taken up and borne down the 
long flight of stairs to the police ambulance now awaiting his 
coming. It was a pitiable sight to see the somewhat shabby 
looking ambulance which contained the prostrate form of the 
President driving rapidly along Pennsylvania Avenue to the 
White House, surrounded by mounted police, when one 
remembered in what excellent spirits General Garfield had 
ridden over the same pavement scarcely an hour before, or how 
joyously he had ridden along it to and from his inaugura- 
tion four months ago. And by the same route, in the rear of 
the Treasury Building, as the President drove on the 4th of 
March, surrounded by the Cleveland Horse Troops, to-day 
drove the ambulance surrounded by the mounted police. 
Arrived at the mansion, the President was carried up-stairs to 
the large chamber in the south side, and the bedside was soon 
surrounded by physicians and agonized friends. The regular 
troops shortly after arrived, and all the gateways leading to the 
President's grounds were closed. Armed sentries took their 
places at the main gateway, and only those having passes were 
permitted to enter. 

It was now half-past ten, A feverish excitement added to 
the intense heat of the day. "Will he die?" "Is he badly 
wounded ?" " What do the doctors say ?" and a hundred 
similar inquiries were addressed to anybody supposed to have 
superior facilities in getting news from the White House. The 
sidewalks fronting the White House grounds, and the square 
opposite were packed with people peering through the iron rail- 
ing at the house a hundred yards distant, as though something 
could be discovered in the atmosphere that would tell them just 
the condition of the President's wounds. At eleven o'clock 
Dr. Barnes, the Surgeon-General, sent over the wires from the 
White House a statement that the wound in the loin would 
probably prove fatal, though nothing could be decided until 
consultation. It was not five minutes that this sad news was 
on the wing, and the eager crowd whispered it and sent it to 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 39 

every part of the city. The possibility of the President's 
(lying was realized now for the first time. There had been 
hope that Providence which prepcnds the aims of assassins 
had turned the bullet in a harmless direction ; but too soon was 
it suspected that the lower wound was of a nature from which 
the President could scarcely recover, and that death was only 
a question of a few hours. 

DIAGNOSIS BY THE DOCTORS. 

Dr. Smith Townshend, the District Health OflBcer, who was 
the first physician to reach the President, gives the following 
statement: "I arrived at the depot four minutes after he was 
shot, and found him lying upon the floor of the depot, sur- 
rounded by an immense gathering. He was then in a fainting 
condition. From his appearance and the pulsations at the 
wrist I thought he was dying. I took some of the pillows from 
under his head that he might rest easier. I prescribed aromatic 
spirits of ammonia and brandy, which revived him. I ordered 
the police to get the crowd back, and had the President removed 
to an upper room. He rallied considerably, and I proceeded to 
examine his wounds. I found that the last bullet had entered 
his back about two and a half inches to the right of the 
vertebrae. When I placed my finger in the wound some 
hemorrhage followed. I then administered another dose of the 
stimulant, which again revived him. In the mean time Drs. 
Purvis and Bliss arrived. I had, however, previously asked 
him how he felt and where the most pain was felt, and he 
answered in his right leg and feet. I asked him the character 
of his pain, and he said that it was a pricking sensation. Dr. 
Woodward, of the army, also came in afterwards, and after a 
consultation we concluded to remove him to the White House. 
It was then about ten o'clock, and all the members of the 
Cabinet were present. I forgot to tell you that after I made 
the examination of the wounds the President looked up and 
asked me what I thought of it. I answered that I did not con- 
sider it serious. He continued, ' I thank you, doctor, but I am 
a dead man.' When we arrived at the White House, and just 
before he was removed from the ambulance, he asked me to call 
to Major Brock to clear the hall, as there might be another 
assassin around. Quite a number of the doctors and others 
went along with the ambulanc^e. When taken from the ambu- 
lance he was in a fainting condition, and we revived him with 



40 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

stimulants, and upon consultation we concluded to give a 
hypodermic injection of morphia and allow him to rest until 
three o'clock. Afterwards we gave him an injection of atropia 
and morphia, which brought his pulse up to eighty. At three 
o'clock, when we had another consultation, we found his pulse 
102 and temperature 96, or two and a half below normal. 
While we were in consultation he became very much nauseated 
and vomited considerably. Upon examining the wound we 
found much dulness and tension of the right hypogastric region, 
restlessness and pain, which indicated internal hemorrhage. We 
immediately gave him one hypodermic injection of a quarter 
of a grain of morphia, which relieved him of the pain and 
quieted him. At half-past four o'clock this afternoon, when I 
left him, he was in a partially comatose state and unconscious. 
He was not talking much, but answered some of our questions." 
Said Dr. Ford, one of the attending physicians: "He is 
bearing his sufferings with remarkable patience, and when I 
took hold of his leg the President requested me to squeeze it 
a little harder, as it greatly relieved him." Dr. Ford stated 
further that the President desired to know his exact condition, 
and made his wish known to Dr. Bliss. The latter told him 
that he was seriously injured ; that some slight symptoms of 
internal hemorrhage were visible, and that if such was really the 
case it was a very serious matter. But if the ball had simply 
penetrated the muscles, it would put a different face upon mat- 
ters, and he would very probably recover. The President 
replied, " I am very glad to know my condition ; I can bear 
it." " These words," said Dr. Ford, " were spoken as calmly 
and peaceably as anything I had ever heard in my life." Dr. 
Ford further stated that at the consultation at three o'clock it 
was resolved to hold another at seven o'clock this p.m., and it 
was unanimously agreed that the condition of the President 
would not admit of probing for the ball. 

HOW THE NEWS WAS BROKEN TO MRS. GARFIELD AT LONG BRANCH. 

Elberon, Long Branch, July 2. — The sea air has done won- 
ders for Mrs. Garfield, who came here two weeks ago to-day, en- 
feebled by malaria contracted in the White House. Her first 
week ended last Saturday happily. She was a loved wife and 
mother, surrounded by her husband and children, and rapidly 
regaining health and strength. Her second week ends in the 
deepest sorrow. " Who would have thought," said one of the 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 41 

most prominent lady friends of Mrs. Garfield, in this house this 
morning, " that that strong man who went away from here on Mon- 
day morning, waving adieus to those he left behind him for only 
a few days, would be lying at the point of death to-night ?" 
Never was more profound sympathy expressed than that which 
I hear from all sides to-night. The corridor of the hotel is 
filled with prominent men from every quarter of the country, 
and they have apparently but one sentiment : deep sorrow for 
the dying President, and pity for his bereaved household. 
Many ladies came in with their escorts to look at the latest bul- 
letins. General Grant also came a moment ago, but his impas- 
sive face showed no emotion. He declined to express himself 
further than he had done in a telegram that he had sent to Sec- 
retary Lincoln. That telegram was as follows : 

To Robert T. Lincoln^ Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. : 

Please despatch the condition of the President. News re- 
ceived is conflicting. I hope the favorable may be confirmed. 
Express to the President my deep sympathy and hope that he 
may speedily recover. U. S. GRANT. 

The reply came only a short time ago, after the General had 
bought some cigars and gone away pufiing impassively. It is 
as follows : 

Washington, D. C, July 2. 
General U. S. Grant, Elberon, JV. J. : 

The President's condition is very serious, and excites our 
greatest apprehensions. There is internal hemorrhage. The 
surgeons are evidently very anxious and guarded in their ex- 
pressions. He is perfectly clear in mind, and desires me to 
thank you for your telegram, which I just gave to him in sub- 
stance. ROBERT T. LINCOLN, 

Secretary of War. 

Mrs. Garfield, Miss Mollie Garfield, and General and Mrs. 
Swaim came from their rooms this morning. Mrs. Garfield ad- 
mired the beauty of the morning, and spoke with evident 
pleasure of the reunion with President Garfield in New York 
later in the day. It had been arranged that the party was to 
set out for New York in a train of the Long Branch Division 
from this station at 12.22. Prom New York it was the purpose 
to proceed to the residence of Mr. Cyrus W. Field, in Irvington, 



42 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

in Mr. Field's steam yacM. The cool, bright morning gave 
abundant promise of a delightful journey. From the drawing- 
room the party went to the dining-room and sat down to break- 
fast together. The breakfast lasted until 10 o'clock. Then 
Mrs. Garfield and her friends returned to the drawing-room, 
whose windows command a view of the ocean. Soon after 10 
a bell-boy summoned General Swaim to the office, where Mr. C. 
T. Jones, the proprietor, handed him a telegram. General 
Swaim tore the telegram open indifferently, supposing that it 
was from some friend on business. But he read the following : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To General J. Stvaim, Mberon : 

The President has been shot and, I am afraid, is seriously 
wounded. Keep it from Mrs. Garfield till you hear further. 

Later — Doctors say not dangerous. KOCKWELL. 

General Swaim was evidently deeply moved. He reflected 
for a moment, and then returned the telegram to its envelope 
and put it in his breast pocket. He returned to the drawing- 
room and conversed with the ladies as though nothing was upon 
his mind. Several minutes later the bell-boy again summoned 
him to the office, where this telegram awaited him : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2. 
To General Sivaim : 

We have the President safely and comfortably settled in his 
room at the Executive Mansion, and his pulse is strong and 
nearly normal. So far as I can determine, and from what the 
surgeons say, and from his general condition, we feel very hope- 
ful. Come on as soon as you can get a special train. Advise 
us of the movements of your train, and when you can be ex- 
pected. As the President said on a similar occasion sixteen 
years ago, "God reigns, and the Government in AVashington 
still lives." A. F. ROCKWELL. 

General Swaim went into the drawing-room again, and, with 
as much calmness as he could assume, said, " Mrs. Garfield, it 
may be necessary for us to go direct to Washington. An acci- 
dent has happened to General Garfield." Mrs. Garfield and 
Miss MoUie turned pale, and looked anxiously at General Swaim. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 43 

" So far as I am informed," he went on, hoping to avoid close 
questioning, " the accident is not so serious as was at first sup- 
posed." Mrs. Garfield begged General Swaim to tell her the 
whole truth, and as gently and sympathetically as possible he 
told her. She and Miss Mollie and Mrs. Swaim retired at once 
to their rooms. Mrs. Garfield was too much affected to do any- 
thing towards hurrying the preparations for departure, but Mol- 
lie and Mrs. Swaim relieved her. Just before 11 o'clock a 
telegram for Mrs. Garfield was received and sent to her room. 
It was as follows : 

Mrs. Garfield, Elheron, Long Branch : 

The President desires me to say to you, from him, that he 
has been seriously hurt, how seriously he cannot yet say. He is 
himself, and hopes you will come to him soon. He sends his 
love to you. A. F. ROCKWELL. 

Hardly had it been delivered when another : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To Mrs, J. A. Garfield, Elheron, N. J. : 

Don't believe sensational despatches about the President. Will 
keep you constantly advised. J. S. BROWN. 

Close upon this telegram was the following: 

Executive Mansion, 
Albany, N. Y., July 2, 1881. 
To Mrs. Garfield: 

Please accept my earnest sympathy and sincere hope for the 
early and complete restoration of the President. Intense feel- 
ing of indignation prevails throughout our State. 

ALONZO B. CORNELL. 

General Swaim at once made arrangements for a special train. 
He telegraphed to Jersey City, and the reply came that a special 
train, with parlor car for Mrs. Garfield, would reach the Elberon 
station at 12.45. Mr. Jones had had a carriage at the door at a 
few minutes after 12 o'clock, and Mrs. Garfield and her friends 
were driven to the station. Mr. Jones sent his own body ser- 
vant to wait upon Mrs. Garfield on the swift journey to Wash- 
ington, so as to spare her the intrusion of stranger attendants. 



44 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

The train got under way on time, and dashed away at express 
speed. It was calculated that the trip to Philadelphia would be 
accomplished in a little over two hours, and that Mrs. Garfield 
would arrive in Washington at 7 p.m. 

MRS. GARFIELD WITH HER HUSBAND. 

Shortly after seven o'clock this evening a carriage rolled up 
to the White House entrance, and Mrs. Garfield alighted. With 
her were her daughter and Mrs. and Miss Rockwell. She hur- 
ried to the bedside of the President, who recognized her at 
once, and she began to converse with him in a low tone. She 
exhibited great self-control while in the sick-room, and did not 
betray the slightest evidence of emotion. The President spoke 
to her in a whisper that was audible at the other end of the 
room. The physicians, who were then holding consultation in 
an adjoining room, decided it unwise to allow the interview to 
last beyond a few minutes, and persuaded Mrs. Garfield to take 
her leave for the time being at least. She very readily assented, 
and was escorted out by two of the doctors. When she had 
left the room she completely broke down and sobbed aloud most 
piteously. 

Mrs. Garfield pleaded for a second interview with her hus- 
band, which was acceded to by the physicians. The room was 
cleared at her request, and she, with some other members of the 
family, remained thirty minutes with the President. During 
this period the first favorable symptoms were exhibited, and 
from that moment up to twelve o'clock everything looked 
brighter. 

SEARCHING THE ASSASSIN. 

Lieutenant Eckloff, of the Metropolitan Police force, received 
the prisoner at police headquarters, and when interviewed said : 
" When he was brought in we searched him, but he took from 
his pocket unassisted the pistol that he had used. It was too 
large for the hip pocket, and he had considerable difficulty in 
getting it out. He said to us that we need not be excited at 
all, that if we wanted to know why he did the act we would find 
it in his papers in the breast pocket of his coat. We took the 
pistol out of his hand and found it to be a five-shooter, with two 
barrels empty. It was what is termed an 'English bull-dog,' 
and carries a ball as large as a navy revolver does." 

The assassin was taken to jail by Lieutenants Austin and Eck- 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 46 

loff and Detective McElfresh, when the following conversation 
took place on the way out : 

Mr. McElfresh said, " Where are you from ?" 

" I am a native-born American ; born in Chicago." 

" Why did you do this ?" asked the officer. 

He replied, " I did it to save the Republican party." 

" What is your politics ?" 

He said, " I am a stalwart among the stalwarts. With 
Garfield out of the way we can carry all the Northern States, 
and with him in the way we can't carry a single one. Who are 
you?" 

" A detective officer of this department." 

" You stick to me and have me put in the third story front 
at the jail. General Sherman is coming down to take charge. 
Arthur and all these men are my friends, and I'll have you made 
Chief of Police. When you get back to the police you will 
find that I left two bundles of papers at the news stand, which 
will explain all." 

'* Is there anybody else with you in this matter ?" 

" Not a living soul ; I contemplated this thing for the last few 
weeks." 

On reaching the jail the people there did not seem to know 
anything about the assassination, and when inside the door Mr. 
Russ, the deputy warden, said, " This man has been here be- 
fore." The detective then asked him, " Have you ever been 
here before ?" He replied, " No, sir." 

" Well, the deputy warden seems to identify you," said the 
officer. 

" Yes," replied Guiteau. " I was down here last Saturday 
morning and wanted them to let me look through, and they told 
me that I could not, but to come on Monday." 

" What was your object in looking through ?" 

" I wanted," he said, " to see what kind of quarters I would 
have to occupy." 

The detective then searched him, and when he pulled off his 
shoes he said, " Give me my shoes, I will catch cold on the stone 
pavement." The detective then told him he could not have them. 

TRACING THE BULLET. 

At half-past eight o'clock, when the physicians saw great 
retching going on, they determined to make an effort to ascer- 
tain the exact location of the baU^ and to treaj^ the patient 



46 THE ASSASSmATIOF OF 

accordingly. They began by administering stimulants, but 
nothing would stay down. However, a hypodermic injection 
was given and the examination proceeded with. It was found 
that the ball had fractured the eleventh rib and passed into the 
liver ; but it could not be traced further, though it is supposed to 
have lodged in the locality of the spinal column, the result of 
which would be hemorrhage of the liver. At a quarter of nine 
his pulse was 158, as near as could be computed, for it was so 
faint it was scarcely perceptible at the wrist. At this hour the 
doctors thought that he could not last beyond twelve o'clock, 
while some looked for his death momentarily, and he had lost 
consciousness. 

At thirty-five minutes after twelve o'clock the following bul- 
letin was issued : 

Executive Mansion, 12.35 p.m. 

The reaction from the shock of the injury has been very grad- 
ual. He is suffering some pain, but it is thought best not to 
disturb him by making any exploration for the ball until after 
the consultation at three p.m. D. W. BLISS, M.D. 

At this time the following physicians were in attendance, 
viz. : Drs. Bliss, Ford, Huntingdon, Woodward, United States 
Army ; Townshend, Lincoln, Reyburn, Norris, Purvis, Patterson, 
Surgeon-General Barnes, and Surgeon-General Wales. As soon 
as possible after consultation Mr, Blaine sent a cable message to 
this effect, announcing the misfortune to General Garfield to our 
representatives abroad : 

Department of State, 
Washington, July 2, 1881. 
James Russell Lowell^ Minister y etc., London : 

The President of the United States was shot this morning by 
an assassin named Charles Guiteau. The weapon was a large- 
sized revolver. The President had just reached the Baltimore 
and Potomac station at about twenty minutes past nine, intend- 
ing, with a portion of his Cabinet, to leave on the limited 
express for New York. I rode in the carriage with him from 
the Executive Mansion, and was walking by his side when he 
was shot. The assassin was immediately arrested, and the 
President was conveyed to a private room in the station build- 
ing and surgical aid at once summoned. He has now, at twenty 
minutes past ten, been removed to the Executive Mansion. The 
surgeons ov, consultation regard his wounds as very serious, 



PBE8IDENT GARFIELD. 47 

thougli not necessarily fatal. His vigorous health gives strong 
hopes of his recovery. He has not lost consciousness for a 
moment. Inform our Ministers in Europe. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State, 

GUITEAU IN JAIL. 

Guiteau on being arrested was hurried off to the District jail. 
When the prisoner arrived there he was neatly attired in a suit 
of blue, and wore a drab hat pulled down over his eyes, giving 
him the appearance of an ugly character. It may be worthy of 
note to state that some two or three weeks ago Guiteau went to 
the jail for the purpose of visiting it, but was refused admittance on 
the ground that it was not " visitors' day." He at that time men- 
tioned his name as Guiteau, and said that he came from Chicago. 
When brought to the jail to-day he was admitted by the officer who 
had previously refused to allow him to enter, and a mutual recogni- 
tion took place,Guiteau saying, "You are the man who wouldn't let 
me go through the jail some time ago." The only other remark he 
made before being placed in his cell was that General Sherman 
would arrive at the jail soon. The two 'jailors state that they 
have seen him around the jail several times recently, and that on 
one occasion he appeared to be under the influence of liquor. 
On one of his visits, subsequent to the first one mentioned, these 
officers say that Guiteau succeeded in reaching the rotunda of the 
building, where he was noticed examining the scaffold from 
which the Hirth murderers were hanged. 

Pursuant to his orders from the Attorney-General the officer 
in charge of the jail declined to give any further information, 
nor would he state in what cell the prisoner was confined. This 
officer was an attendant at the old city jail at the time of the 
assassination of President Lincoln. 

THE murderer's FORETHOUGHT. 

The following letter was taken from the prisoner's pocket at 
police headquarters : 

July 2, 1881. 

To the White House : 

The President's tragic death was a sad necessity, but it will 
unite the Republican party and save the Republic. Life is a 
tiirasy dream, and it matters little when one goes ; a human life 



48 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

is of small value. During the war thousands of brave boys 
went down without a tear. I presume the President was a Chris- 
tian, and that he will be happier in Paradise than here. It will 
be no worse for Mrs. Garfield, dear soul, to part with her hus- 
band this way than by natural death. He is liable to go at any 
time, any way. I had no ill-will towards the President. His 
death was a political necessity. I am a lawyer, a theologian, and 
a politician. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with Gen- 
eral Grant and the rest of our men in New York during the can- 
vass. I have some papers for the press, which I shall leave with 
Byron Andrews and his company, journalists, at No. 1420 New 
York Avenue, where all the reporters can see them. I am going 
to the jail. CHARLES GUITEAU. 

On his way to jail the prisoner said that the President's assassi- 
ination was premeditated, and that he went to Long Branch for 
the purpose of shooting him there, and was deterred by the en- 
feebled and saddened condition of Mrs. Garfield, which ap- 
pealed so strongly to his sense of humanity that he came 
back without carrying out his intention. Those by whom 
Guiteau has been examined since the shooting say that he 
shows no symptoms of insanity, and it is understood that 
the letter "To the White House" is the only document in 
the collection which supports the theory of insanity. Byron 
Andrews, who is the Washington correspondent of the Chicago 
Inter-Ocean, says that while it is true a package of papers are 
in the hands of the police, accompanied by a note addressed to 
himself (Andrews), he has no personal acquaintance with Guiteau, 
and never heard of his existence until this morning. From what 
he has gathered from the police Andrews believes that Guiteau's 
home is in Freeport, 111. 

A LETTER TO GENERAL SHERMAN. 

This letter was found on the street shortly after the arrest. 
The envelope was unsealed and addressed : " Please deliver at 
once to General Sherman (or his first assistant in charge of the 
War Department)" : 

To General Sherman: 

I have just shot the President. I shot him several times, as I 
wished him to go as easily as possible. His death was a politi- 
cal necessity. I am a lawyer, theologian, and politician ; I am a 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 49 

Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with General Grant and the 
rest of our men in New York during the canvass. I am going 
to the jail. Please order out your troops and take possession of 
the jail at once. Very respectfully, 

CHARLES GUITEAU. 

On receiving the above General Sherman gave it the follow- 
ing endorsement : 

Headquarters of the Army, 
Washington, D.C, July 2, 1881, 11.35 a.m. 
This letter . . . was handed me this minute by Major 
William J. Twining, United States Engineers, Commissioner of 
the District of Columbia, and Major William G. Brock, Chief 
of Police. I don't know the writer, never heard of or saw him 
to my knowledge, and hereby return it to the keeping of the 
above-named parties as testimony in the case. 

W. T. SHERMAN, General. 

the prisoner isolated. 
The District jail was visited by the press reporter shortly 
after eleven o'clock for the purpose of obtaining an interview 
with Guiteau. The officers refused admittance to the building, 
stating as the reason therefor that they were acting under in- 
structions received from Attorney-General MacVeagh, the pur- 
port of which were that no one should be allowed to see the 
prisoner. At first, indeed, the officers emphatically denied that 
the man had been conveyed to the jail, fearing, it appears, that 
should the fact be made known that he was there, the building 
would be attacked by a mob. Information had reached 
them that such a movement was contemplated. A large guard, 
composed of regulars from the barracks, and a Metropolitan 
Police force are at the jail, to be in readiness to repel an attack. 

The following despatch was sent by the Secretary of State to 
Vice-President Arthur, at New York : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
At this hour (1 p.m.) the President's symptoms are not re- 
garded as unfavorable, but no definite assurance can be given 
until after the probing of the wound at three o'clock. There 
are strong grounds for hope, and, at the same time, the gravest 
anxiety as to the final result. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of Sta/^ 
8 



50 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

There is a theory which has many adherents that the at- 
tempted assassination was not the work of a lunatic, but the 
result of a plot much deeper and darker than has been suspected. 
It is cited in support of this theory that Guiteau arranged 
beforehand with a hackman to be in readiness to drive him 
swiftly in the direction of the Congressional Cemetery as soon 
as he made his appearance on returning from the depot. In 
the mean time he had left a bundle of papers in the hands of a 
boy with a view, it is maintained, to creating a belief in his in- 
sanity in the event of his capture. It is also reported that 
Guiteau had an accomplice whose description is in the hands of 
the police. 

England's official sympathy. 

Sir Edward Thornton and Mr. Victor Drummond called upon 
the Secretary of State, who was in attendance upon the Presi- 
dent at the Executive Mansion, between four and five o'clock, 
and delivered to him a copy of the following despatch, with 
many expressions of deep sorrow at the great tragedy : 

London, July 2, 5 p.m. 
Thornton, Washington : 

Is it true that President Garfield has been shot at ? If so, 
express at once great concern of Her Majesty's government and 
our hope that report that he has sustained serious injury is not 
true. EARL GRANVILLE, Foreign Office. 

Also the following : 

London, 10.25 p.m. 
To Sir Edward Thornton, British Embassy, Washington : 

The Queen desires that you will at once express the horror 
with which she has learned of the attempt upon the Presi- 
dent's life, and her earnest hope for his recovery. Her Majesty 
wishes for full and immediate reports as to his condition. 

LORD GRANVILLE. 



messages from hancock and grant. 

Governor's Island, N. Y. 
To General W. T. Sherman, Washington : 

I trust that the result of the assault upon the life of the 
Presxvlent to-day may not have fatal consequences, and that in 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 51 

the interest of the country the act may be shown to have been 
that of a madman. Thanks for your despatch and for your 
promise of further information. W. S. HANCOCK. 

Elberon, N. J., July 2, 1881. 
To Secretary/ Lincoln, Washington : 

Please despatch me the condition of the President. News 
received conflicts. I hope the most favorable may be con- 
firmed. Express to the President my deep sympathy and hope 
that he may speedily recover. U. S. GRANT. 

The Star says in an extra that when the assassin was arrested 
he said : 

*' I did it, and want to be arrested. I am a stalwart, and 
Arthur is President now. I have a letter here that I want you 
to give to General Sherman. It will explain everything. Take 
me to the police station." 

MRS. GARFIELD IN WASHINGTON. 

Mrs. Garfield travelled from Elberon in a special car. One 
engine broke down during the journey, and the Pennsylvania 
Company immediately supplied another. Mrs. Garfield arrived 
at fifteen minutes to seven o'clock p.m., and was immediately 
conducted to the President's apartment. At seven o'clock this 
telegram was sent by Secretary Blaine to Vice-President Arthur : 

Mrs. Garfield has just arrived — a quarter before seven o'clock. 
The President was able to recognize and converse with her, but 
in the judgment of his physicians he is rapidly sinking. 

JAMES G. BLAINE. 

HALF HOURLY BULLETINS. 

During the evening half hourly bulletins of the President's 
condition were sent out, among which were the following : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 7.40 p.xM. 
The President's condition is not perceptibly changed eitner 
for the better or the worse. His voice is strong, his mind un- 
impaired, and he talks freely with those about him.- 

Executive Mansion, 8.25 p.m. 
The President is again sinking, and there is little if any 
hope. 



52 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Executive Mansion, 9.20 p.m. 
The President has rallied a little within the past three-quar- 
ters of an hour, and his symptoms are a little more favorable. 
He continues brave and cheerful. About the time he began to 
rally he said to Dr. Bliss, " Doctor, what are the indications?" 
Dr. Bliss replied, " There is a chance of recovery." " Well, 
then," replied the President, cheerfully, " we will take that 
chance." The President is still sleeping. 

Executive Mansion, 10.20 p.m. 
The President's symptoms continue to grow more favorable 
and to afford more ground for hope. His temperature is now 
normal, his pulse has fallen four beats since the last oflacial bul- 
letin, and the absence of blood in the discharges from the blad- 
der shows that that organ is not injured as had been feared. 

Washington, 11 p.m. 
Mrs. Garfield, although weak from her recent illness and 
shocked by the suddenness of the grief which has come to her, 
has behaved since her arrival with a courage and self-control 
equal to those of her husband. Not only has she not given 
way to the terror and grief which she necessarily feels, but she 
has been constantly by the President's side encouraging him 
with her presence and sympathy, and giving efficient aid, so far 
as has been in her power, to the attending physicians. 

Washington, July 2, 12 p.m. 
The improvement in the President's condition is still main- 
tained. He is resting quietly. 

thrilling story op the shooting by an eye-witness. 

The train by which President Garfield was to have travelled 
to New York arrived at the Pennsylvania depot in Jersey City 
at a quarter to four o'clock. It left Washington a little after 
half-past nine and was due at Jersey City at twenty-four min- 
utes to four. It was composed of three Pullman cars and an 
engine. There were not many passengers on it, and most of 
those were ladies. Great crowds of people, anxious to learn 
some particulars of the shooting, thronged the depot and the 
streets in the neighborhood. The moment passengers by what 
at that time had come to be called the President's train alighted 
they were accosted and challenged for information. Very few 
of them knew anything more than they had gleaned from the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 53 

newspapers along the route, and so the multitude had to dis- 
perse unsatisfied. The conductor in charge of the train in- 
formed a reporter of the Herald that there was a gentleman on 
the train who had witnessed the whole occurrence of the assas- 
sination of the President and he seemed to be deeply distressed 
about it. After a search among the passengers scattered 
through the depot and fer^ry-house, the reporter at length found 
the gentleman. He proved to be Mr. Simon Camacho, the 
Minister from Venezuela, and though'Tie was somewhat reluct- 
ant at first to speak on the subject, being deeply moved when it 
was spoken of to him, he subsequently consented to describe 
what he heard and saw. To the reporter's first question Mr. 
Camacho said : " I went to the Baltimore and Potomac depot 
early, because I had to meet some friends." 

" What time did you get there ?" 

" About nine o'clock. I had to wait for Mrs. General Blake 
and daughters, as they were going to New York with me on the 
half-past nine train. It was the limited express." 

" Were you waiting in the depot?" 

" No ; I was standing at the entrance to the station on B 
Street." 

" Did you see anything of the man who shot the President 
while you were there ?" 

" No, not there ; that is the ladies' entrance, and there were 
not many people about. I saw Secretary Lincoln drive up in 
his carriage. He was alone. Some little time after, the Secre- 
tary of the Navy drove up in his carriage, accompanied by a 
lady." 

" How soon after that did the President arrive ?" 

" Not long after." 

" What hour was it when he got to the station ?" 

" A quarter past nine o'clock exactly. He and Secretary 
Blaine drove up together in a carriage." 

"Did you notice how the President was dressed?" 

"Yes; he wore a long duster, and was out of the carriage 
before I recognized him. Mr. Blaine and he sat and talked a 
while before leaving the carriage. They seemed to be in cap- 
ital spirits. Mr. Blaine was tossing his cane up and down as he 
talked." 

" Did you remain at the ladies' entrance ?" 

"When the bell signalled the approaching departure. of the 
train I turned and went into the depot. I gave up all hope of 



54 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

meeting my friends, and concluded to go on the cars and take 
my place." 

" Where were you when the shooting occurred ?" 

" On my way to the train yard through the station. I was 
already very near the door which divides the ladies' room from 
the large hall, and I heard the noise of quick steps on the floor. 
The report of a pistol followed immediately. I turned quickly 
HI id saw a man firing a second shot into the back of President 
Garfield. The second shot succeeded the first one very rap- 
idly." 

" Would you be kind enough to explain to me how the Presi- 
dent was going at that instant ?" 

" He entered with Mr. Blaine by the door at which I was 
standing. There is an almost similar door at the opposite end 
of the building that leads to the train yard, and he was moving 
across the building in that direction." 

" What happened when he was hit the second time V 

" Well, he fell — that is, he dropped or sank as it might be, 
and fell forward near the wall. His knees seemed to bend, and 
he leaned a little towards the right as he fell face downwards." 

"Did he speak?" 

" No ; not a word." 

" Nor utter a cry ?" 

" I heard none." 

"What did Mr. Blaine do?" 

" At the first shot he turned, but in a minute he regained hit 
ground and went to the assistance of the President." 

" Were both shots fired into the President's back ?" 

" No. The first was fired at his side, a sort of three-quarter 
side, and the second was directly in his back." 

" Was the assassin arrested at once ?" 

" No ; he made a dash for the B Street door, and at the same 
moment I started to intercept and arrest him." 

"Had he the pistol?" 

" Yes ; he held the pistol in his right hand ; but I knew that 
a man bent on killing a man would not readily attack a third ; 
at all events I meant to take the consequences. I could have 
crossed the space in the building to him but for the heater, 
which stood in the center. I had to go round that way. When 
be saw that he must be caught at that door he wheeled and ran 
to the other, at what I may call the rear end of the building. 
By that move he escaped me and got into the yard." 



PRESIDENT QARFIELB. 55 

" He was arrested there ?" 

" Yes ; by a number of men, and almost instantly the cry 
went up, * Lynch ! lynch ! lynch ! ' It was an awful moment — 
dreadful." 

'* What did the assassin look like ?" 

" He was white, sunburned, short, stout ; what I should call 
powerful. He had auburn hair and looked angry and full of 
resolution." 

" You did not think he was a lunatic ?" 

"No, sir; nothing of the kind. He looked like a man who 
had come there prepared and determined, and he carried out his 
terrible purpose." 

" Mr. Blaine, you say, made a motion as if to escape at the 
first shot?" 

" At the first moment he jumped towards the door, but he 
came back immediately to help the President." 

" Could he have saved the President ?" 

" No, sir ; the shooting was too rapid and unexpected. I 
might have been able to do something if the heater had not 
been between me and the assassin ; but as it was, all present 
were powerless." 

" What had become of Secretaries Lincoln and Hunt ?" 

" When a mattress was brought, to place the President on I 
saw them entering from the large hall into the ladies' reception 
room." 

"Were there none of the station authorities about the 
place ?" 

" The B Street door was shut by a tall man, who compelled 
the people to keep back from the spot where the President was 
lying." 

" The people soon understood what had occurred ?" 

" Yes, instantly. The news spread like wildfire, and the ex- 
citement was intense. The voice of the gateman started me to 
go to the train. I found my friends at that moment. They 
were entering the car, and I followed them." 

"Did you tell no one what you had witnessed!" 

"Yes; as Secretary Blaine was moving towards the fallen 
President I said to him, '■ Mr. Secretary, I have seen every- 
thing.' " 

" I suppose you met Mrs. Garfield on the road ?" 

" We passed her, poor lady, at Trenton. This murderous 
attack reminds me of the one by which President Prado per- 



y 



55 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

ished. He was going witli two friends into the senate chamber 
of Lima when a soldier shot him in the back. Prado staggered 
some few feet and fell just as did President Garfield.'^ 

MRS. GARFIELD AND THE CABINET OFFICERS. 

Secretary Lincoln, who, with his wife and little girl, remained 
in constant attendance at the White House from the time the 
President arrived, seemed to feel the blow more deeply, per- 
haps, than any one except Mr. Blaine. The memories of that 
terrible night, sixteen years ago, when his father was assassinated, 
were evidently uppermost in his mind, and he referred to that 
sad event several times. 

" My God!" he exclaimed this afternoon when the news was 
brought out from the doctors that the case was well-nigh hope- 
less. "How many hours of sorrow I have passed in this 
town." 

Postmaster-General James here interposed and said to Mr. 
Lincoln, " Do you remember how often General Garfield has 
referred to your father during the past few days ?" 

" Yes," replied Mr. Lincoln, " and it was only night before 
last that I entered into a detailed recital of the events on that 
awful night." 

Secretary Kirkwood said very little during the day except to 
refer to the remarkably good spirits of the President yesterday. 
" I never saw him so light-hearted as yesterday afternoon. We 
had a long Cabinet session, and the President was the life of 
the meeting. He interspersed the proceedings with anecdotes 
and jokes. He especially referred to the convalescence of Mrs. 
Garfield, and the anticipated pleasures of his visit to his old 
Alma Mater, the meeting with his old schoolmates, and his trip 
to New England." 

About three o'clock this afternoon his son, James, could not 
contain his pent-up grief any longer, and broke out into sobs. 
His father sadly said, " Jimmy, my son, hope for the best." 

The President talked considerably during the day. Accord- 
ing to Dr. Bliss he was at times jocular, and the vein of his 
conversation was of a light character and calculated to cheer up 
his friends and attendants. A short time after he was put to 
bed a messenger was despatched to a neighboring establishment 
for one bottle of brandy. The man brought two, and the Presi- 
dent, perceiving it, joked with Dr. Bliss about a double allow- 
ance. The President informed Dr. Bliss that he desired to be 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 57 

kept accurately informed about his condition. Conceal nothing 
from me, doctors," said he, " for remember that I am not afraid 
to die." Towards four o'clock, when the evidence of internal 
hemorrhage became unmistakable and all the indications pointed 
to his dissolution, the President asked Dr. Bliss what the pros- 
pects were. He said, " Are they bad, doctor ? Don't be 
afraid ; tell me frankly. I am ready for the worst." 

" Mr. President," replied Dr. Bliss, " your condition is 
extremely critical. I do not think you can live many hours." 

" God's will be done, doctor ; Pm ready to go if my time has 
come," firmly responded the wounded man. 

Of all the Cabinet, Secretary Blaine was, to all outward 
appearances, the most distressed. He was very pale, and evi- 
dently was making a strong effort to keep up his strength. 
When Mrs. Garfield alighted from her carriage, weeping, and 
followed by her daughter, Mr. Blaine broke completely down 
and wept for several minutes. 

Mrs. Garfield was escorted by her son James up the stairs, the 
boy, a lad of fifteen, holding her tightly by the waist and con- 
stantly whispering words of comfort in her ear. Upon entering the 
apartment over which the shadow of death was beginning to 
hover, all present silently retired, and the dying President and 
his wife were left alone. This was at precisely 6.50. They 
remained together for fifteen minutes. At the end of that time 
the doctors were again admitted to the room. They found the 
President perfectly conscious, but much weaker, his pulse being 
146. " There is no hope for him," said Dr. Bliss ; " he will not \^ 
probably live three hours, and may die in half an hour. The 
bullet has pierced the liver, and it is a fatal wound." 

Colonel Corbin, who came up with the President a few moments 
after he was shot, said he regarded his wound as mortal from 
the moment he saw him lying on the floor of the depot. " I 
had seen too many men die on the battle-field not to know 
death's mark. In my opinion he was virtually a dead man from 
the moment he was shot." 

Telegrams from all parts of the country and Europe kept 
pouring in at the White House all the afternoon. Great sur- 
prise was expressed that neither General Grant, Conkling, Arthur, y 
nor any of the leading Stalwarts had sent despatches of sym- 
pathy up to a late hour in the afternoon. Many prominent 
Democrats, among them Senators Beck, Pugh, and Jones, of 
Florida, and Representative Randolph Tucker, of Virginia, 
8* 



V 



58 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

spent several hours at the White House, and were deeply con- 
cerned in the bulletins from the physicians. Senator Pugh 
said he regarded the death of the President as a great calamity, 
and one that might tend to check the present prosperity of the 
country and of his section. 

The room to which General Garfield was taken is on the south- 
eastern corner of the mansion. The one occupied by him when 
Mrs. Garfield is in the city adjoins this apartment. Besides the 
half-dozen attending physicians and three or four attendants, there 
was an average of five or six other persons in the room during 
the entire day. The library, the Cabinet room, and the private 
-secretaries' rooms were filled with officers during the afternoon 
and evening. The correspondents of the press were given every 
facility to observe the progress of events by private secretary 
Brown, and were also given access to the doors of the sick- 
room. 

GUITEAU'S STORY. 

The excitement and indignation became so great among the 
crowds that were rapidly assembling in all parts of the city that 
the authorities grew apprehensive for the safety of the prisoner, 
and in order that any attempt at lynching might be frustrated it 
was determined to remove him to the District jail, and General 
Sherman was applied to for the assistance of the military in 
case of an emergency. General Sherman, after consulting Sec- 
retary Lincoln, ordered out three companies of United States 
artillery from the arsenal, one company being mounted as 
cavalry and two serving as infantry. One mounted and one 
foot company were stationed about the White House and 
grounds, and one was stationed at the jail. The District militia 
were also ordered to hold themselves is readiness, and remained 
under arms at their armories all day. Guiteau was taken to jail 
in a carriage by Lieutenants Austin and Eckloff and Detective 
McElfresh, of the District police. The last named oflScer reports 
the following conversation with the prisoner while being con- 
ducted to jail: "I asked him. Where are you from?" 

" I am a native-born American. Born in Chicago, and am a 
lawyer and a theologian." 

"Why did you do this?" 

" I did it to save the Republican party." 

" What are your politics?" 

'' I am a Stalwart among the Stalwarts. With Garfield out of 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 59 

the way, we can carry all the Northern States, and with him in 
the way we can't carry a single one." 

Upon learning that McElfresh was a detective, Guiteau said: 
"You stick to me and have me put in the third story, front, at 
the jail. General Sherman is coming down to take charge. Ar- 
thur and all those men are my friends, and I'll have you made 
chief of police. When you go back to the depot you will find 
that I left two bundles of papers at the news-stand which will 
explain all." 

" Is there anybody else with you in this matter ?" 

"Not a living' soul. I have contemplated the thing for the 
last six weeks, and would have shot him when he went away 
with Mrs. Garfield, but I looked at her, and she looked so bad 
that I changed my mind." 

On reaching the jail the officers of the institution did not 
seem to know anything about the assassination, and when taken 
inside Mr. Russ, the deputy warden, said : " This man has been 
here before." 

The detective then asked Guiteau, "Have you ever been here 
before?" He replied, "No, sir." 

"Well, the deputy warden seems to identify you." 

" Yes, I was down here last Saturday morning and wanted 
them to let me look through, and they told me that I couldn't, 
but to come Monday." 

" What was your object in looking through ?" 

" I wanted to see what sort of quarters I would have to oc- 
cupy." _ 

Continuing, the detective said : " I then searched him, and 
when I pulled off his shoes he said, ' Give me my shoes ; I will 
catch cold on this stone pavement.' I told him he couldn't have 
them, and then he said, ' Give me a pair of pumps, then.' " 

The pistol used by the prisoner is a bulldog, 44 calibre, five- 
shooter, and there are three loads remaining in it. Guiteau did 
not throw it away, but had it in his hands when arrested. Gui- 
teau had been noticed lounging about the White House and 
State Department since the 4th of March last. He was regarded 
as a harmless lunatic by the officers, and was frequently refused 
admission. When denied admission to the Executive Mansion 
he would linger about the grounds, and when told at the State 
Department that he could not see Secretary Blaine he would 
linger in the corridors, and earned the reputation of being one 
of the most determined and persistent of office-seekers in the 



60 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

field. His application was filed for appointment as Minister to 
Austria, also as Consul to Liverpool and Consul-General to 
Paris. These papers would seem to indicate some aberration 
or failing of the mind, as there was no signature to give them 
weight. His papers were written by himself, and were accom- 
panied by a printed speech, which he said he had delivered 
during the late campaign in the State of New York. He is a 
man apparently between 35 and 40 years of age, about 5 feet 8 
inches in height, of medium weight, with an ordinary coun- 
tenance, without a single marked feature. He has a sandy 
complexion, light gray eyes, with a very closely-cropped beard 
and hair. He was rather poorly dressed when he made his first 
appearance at the State Department. As time passed by he 
grew more shabby, and when last seen he had reached that point 
when the worn sleeves were pulled down over his hands and his 
coat buttoned close and high to denote the disappearance of 
collar, and perhaps other Hnen. 

Guiteau, while waiting at the White House in the hope of 
securing an interview, has frequently addressed notes to the 
President, of which the following is a specimen : 

" I regret the trouble that you are having with Senator Conk- 
ling. You are right and should maintain your position. You 
have my support and that of all patriotic citizens. I would like 
an audience of a few moments." 

While thus waiting he would help himself to stationery and 
write innumerable letters. He would also utilize blank cards. 
Writing his name upon them, he would place them in his pocket. 
One day Colonel Crook, the disbursing clerk, said to him, " You 
seem to make yourself at home here, and to be laying in a sup- 
ply of stationery." Guiteau replied to him, in an insolent man- 
ner, " Do you know who I am ? I am one of the men who 
made Garfield President." Colonel Crook told Mr. Brown, the 
President's private secretary, of this, when that gentleman in- 
formed Colonel Crook of the true character of Guiteau, and he 
has not been allowed to take liberties with the White House sta- 
tionery since. He has not been at the White House for about a 
week until last evening, when Colonel Crook discovered him, 
about seven o'clock, standing on the porch at the main entrance. 

Dr. Townshend, Health Officer of the District, in conversation 
this afternoon said : " I found the President, when I arrived at 
the Baltimore and Potomac depot, about five minutes after the 
shooting, in a vomiting and fainting condition. I had his head 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. 61 

lowered — it had been elevated by tbe attendant — and adminis- 
tered aromatic spirits of ammonia and brandy to revive him. 
This had the desired effect, and the President regaining con- 
sciousness, was asked where he felt the most pain. He replied 
in the leg and foot. I then examined the wound, introducing 
my fingers, which caused a slight hemorrhage. I then decided 
to have him moved up-stairs from the crowd. Soon after get- 
ting him there, Drs. Smith and Purvis arrived, and, upon con- 
sultation with them, it was decided to remove him to the White 
House. Dr. Smith and myself accompanied the President in 
the ambulance to the White House, where another examination 
was made, and stimulants again administered. An ineffectual 
attempt was made to trace the course of the wound, and at 12.20 
the President suffering much pain, a hypodermic injection of 
morphine was administered." 

One of the telegraphers who carried a telegram to the Presi- 
dent during the afternoon was asked by the wounded man if 
there had been many despatches received to-day regarding his 
misfortunes. The operator replied, " Yes, sir, quite a number 
expressing sympathy for you." The President responded good- 
humoredly, "Excuse me for correcting you, but 'sympathy 
with me * would be better. Be careful of your grammar." 

GUITEAU IN JAIL. 

The Assassin Saved from the Mob and Locked in a Cell. 

Washington, July 2. 
The District jail, a large brown-stone structure situated at the 
eastern extremity of the city, was visited by an Associated Press 
reporter a few minutes after eleven o'clock this morning for 
the purpose of obtaining an interview with Charles Guiteau, 
the assassin of President Garfield. The officers refused admit- 
tance to the building, stating that they were acting under in- 
structions from Attorney-General MacVeagh, the purport of 
which were that no one should be allowed to see the prisoner. 
At first, indeed, the officers emphatically denied that the man 
had been conveyed to the jail, fearing, it appears, that should 
the fact be made known that he was there the building would 
be attacked by a mob. Information had reached them that 
such a movement was contemplated. The statement that 
the assassin's name is Guiteau was verified by the officer in 
charge of the jail. The prisoner arrived and was placed in a 



62 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

cell about 10.30 o'clock, just one hour after the shooting oc- 
curred. He gave his name as Charles Guiteau, of Chicago. In 
appearance he is about thirty years of age, and is supposed to be 
of French descent. His height is about 5 feet 5 inches. He 
has a sandy complexion, and is slight, weighing not more than 
125 pounds. He wears a moustache and light chin whiskers, and 
his sunken cheeks and eyes, far apart from each other, give him a 
sullen, or, as the officers described it, a " loony" appearance. The 
officer in question gave it as his opinion that Guiteau is a Chicago 
Communist, and stated that he has noticed it to be a peculiarity 
of nearly all murderers that their eyes are far apart, and Guiteau, 
he said, proves no exception to the rule. When the prisoner 
arrived at the jail he was neatly attired in a suit of blue, and wore 
a drab hat, pulled down over his eyes, giving him the appearance 
of an ugly character. It may be worthy of note that about two 
or three weeks ago Guiteau went to the jail for the purpose of 
visiting it, but was refused admittance on the ground that it was 
not " visitors' day." He at that time mentioned his name as 
Guiteau, and said that he came from Chicago. When brought to 
the jail to-day he was admitted by the officer who had previously 
refused to allow him to enter, and a mutual recognition took 
place, Guiteau saying, "You are the man who wouldn't let me 
go through the jail some time ago." The only other remark he 
made before being placed in his cell was that Gen. Sherman 
would arrive at the jail soon. The two jailors who are guarding 
his cell state that they have seen him around the jail several 
times recently, and that on one occasion he appeared to be 
under the influence of liquor. On one of his visits subsequent 
to the one mentioned these officers say that Guiteau succeeded 
in reaching the rotunda of the building, where he was noticed 
examining the scaffold from which the Hirth murderers were 
hanged. Pursuant to his orders from the Attorney-General, the 
officer in charge of the jail declined to give any further informa- 
tion, nor would he state in what cell the prisoner was confined. 
This officer was an attendant at the old City Jail at the time of 
the assassination of President Lincoln. 

Charles Guiteau came here in the month of February, with 
recommendations from various persons in Illinois, to secure the 
ITnited States Consulship at Marseilles, France. He went in 
March to the well-known boarding-house of Mrs. Lockwood 
(formerly Mrs. Rines) No. 810 Twelfth Street, and tried to secure 
board. Mrs. Lockwood did not like his appearance, and gave 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 63 

him an out-of-the-way room in the house, in the hope of getting 
rid of him. He pretended to know Gen. Logan and others then 
boarding there. He appeared to get along very well with him- 
self, but not with the boarders, who avoided him as much as 
possible. " He appeared to have a cat-like tread," said one of 
the boarders, " and walked so easily that he was always up 
alongside persons before they knew it." He was said to be 
rude at the table, too, so much so that a gentleman and his wife 
stopping there would not sit beside him at the table. Mrs. 
Lockwood states that he acted strangely at times, and about the 
middle of the month, when she presented his bill, he could not 
pay it. He afterwards left the house, and sent Mrs. Lockwood a 
note stating that he was expecting a six-thousand-dollar position 
and would soon pay his bill. Mrs. Lockwood showed this note 
to Gen. Logan, who said the man was crazy. Three weeks ago 
he met Mrs. Ricksford, of Mrs. Lockwood's boarding-house, on 
the street, and requested her not to say anything about the bill 
he owed as it would injure him in his efforts to secure a posi- 
tion. He expressed great pleasure at the fact that Mrs. Lock- 
wood had treated him kindly while he was at her house. Mrs. 
Lockwood said that Guiteau was a great bother to Gen. Logan, 
so persistent was he in his attempts to secure that gentleman's 
efforts in his behalf. Since leaving Mrs. Lockwood's house he 
has been boarding at various places, but never for a great length 
of time, for the reason that he appeared to have no money. He 
told one of the boarders at Mrs. Lockwood's that he expected to 
be appointed Minister to France, but did not desire it to be 
known. Up to the day before yesterday, when he registered at 
the Riggs^'^ouse, G-uiteau Tias l^een stopping for six weeks, with 
no^'Baggage except a paper box, at No. 920 Fourteenth Street. 

There is a theory, which has many adherents, that the at- 
tempted assassination was not the work of a lunatic, but the 
result of a plot much deeper and darker than has been suspected. 
It is cited, in support of this theory, that Guiteau arranged be- 
forehand with a hackman, to be in readiness to drive him swiftly 
in the direction of the Congressional Cemetery as soon as he 
came out of the depot. In the mean time he had left a bundle 
of papers in the hands of a boy, with a view, it is maintained, to 
create a belief in his insanity, in the event of his capture. 

Guiteau said, on his way to jail, that the President's assassina- 
tion was premeditated, and that he went to Long Branch for the 
purpose of shooting him there, and was deterred by the enfee- 



64 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

bled and saddened condition of Mrs. Garfield, whicli appealed so 
strongly to his sense of humanity that he came back without 
carrying out his intention. Those by whom Guiteau has been 
examined since the shooting say that he shows no symptoms of 
insanity, and it is understood that the letter addressed " To the 
White House" is the only document in the collection which sup- 
ports the theory of insanity. It is reported that Guiteau had an 
accomplice, whose description is in the hands of the police, and 
further developments are anxiously looked for. 

The librarian of the Navy Department says that Guiteau was 
one of Farwell's supporters in the effort to break the unit rule in 
the Chicago Convention, and that he was in the habit of calling 
at the librarian's room and telling how he had been treated by 
Secretary Blaine. 



The Vice-President^ s Receipt of the News — Still Remaining in 
the City. 

Gen. Arthur stopped at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in the morn- 
ing soon after his arrival in this city prior to going to his home 
in Lexington Avenue. For an hour or more before noon he was 
in consultation with ex-Senator Conkling in the apartments of 
the latter. Numerous cards were sent to the general and the 
ex-senator, but they declined to see the greater number of the 
visitors. Both said that they had been so much shocked upon 
receipt of the terrible intelligence that they had no disposition 
to talk with any one. Ex-Senator Conkling was disinclined to 
express his feelings to the newspaper representatives who called, 
and said to one of them that he felt very bad. His countenance 
plainly showed that he was sorely distressed. Gen. Arthur and 
the ex-senator eagerly seized the telegraphic despatches which 
were brought to them. When Gen. Arthur went to his resi- 
dence he asked his servants to see that he was not disturbed. 
In the evening he sat in a front parlor reading the newspaper 
reports from Washington. He said to a reporter, " What can 
I say ? What is there to be said by me ? I am overwhelmed 
with grief over the awful news." He was asked whether he 
would go to Washington last night, and at first said that he did 
not know what he should do. A few minutes later he said that 
in all probability he would not start for Washington until offi- 
cially notified of the President's death. He received the follow- 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 66 

ing despatches during the day and evening from Secretary of 
State Blaine: 

Washington, July 2, 1881. 

The Hon, Chester A. Arthur^ Vice-President of the United States, 
No. 123 Lexington Avenue: 
The President of the United States was shot this morning by 
an assassin named Charles Guiteau. The weapon was a largo- 
sized revolver. The President had just reached the Baltimore 
and Potomac station at about 9.20, intending, with a portion of 
his Cabinet, to leave on the limited express for New York. I 
rode in the carriage with him from the Executive Mansion, and 
was walking "by his side when he was shot. The assassin was 
immediately arrested, and the President was conveyed to a 
private room in the station building and surgical aid at once 
summoned. He has now, at 10.20, been removed to the 
Executive Mansion. The surgeons are in consultation. They 
regard his wounds as very serious, but not necessarily fatal. I 
will keep you advised of his condition. His vigorous health 
gives strong hopes of his recovery. He has not lost conscious- 
ness for a moment. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

Washington, July 2, 1881. 
Hon. Chester A. Arthur^ Vice-President United States, No. 123 
Lexington Avenue : 
At this hour, 1 o'clock p.m., the President's symptoms are 
not regarded as unfavorable, but no definite assurance can be 
given until after the probing of the wound at 3 o'clock. , There 
is strong ground for hope, and at the same time the greatest 
anxiety as to the final results. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, July 2, 1881. 
The Hon. Chester A. Arthur^ Vice-President United States, No. 
123 Lexington Avenue : 
At this hour, 3.30, the symptoms of the President are not 
favorable. Anxiety deepens. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 



66 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Washington, July 2, 1881. 
The Hon. Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President : 

At this hour, 6 o'clock, the condition of the President is very- 
alarming. He is losing his strength, and the worst may be 
apprehended. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, July 2, 1881. 
The Hon. Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President, New York : 

Mrs. Garfield has just arrived, at 6.45 o'clock. The Presi- 
dent was able to recognize and converse with her, but, in the 
j udgment of his physicians, he is rapidly sinking. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary/ of State. 

In reply to Secretary Blaine, Gen. Arthur sent the following : 

New York, July 2, 1881. 
Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. : 
Your telegram, with its deplorable narrative, did not reach 
me promptly, owing to my absence. I am profoundly shocked 
at the dreadful news. The hopes you express relieve somewhat 
the horror of the first announcement. I await .further intelli- 
gence with the greatest anxiety. Express to the President and 
those about him my great grief and sympathy, in which the 
whole American people will join. C. A. ARTHUR. 

New York, July 2, 1881. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. : 
Your 6.45 telegram is very distressing. I still hope for more 
favorable tidings, and ask you to keep me advised. Please do 
not fail to express to Mrs. Garfield my deepest sympathy. 

. C. A. ARTHUR. 

About 7 o'clock last evening. Gen. Arthur entered a coupe at 
Ills residence, and was rapidly driven to the Fifth Avenue Hotel, 
where he met ex-Senator Conkling, Police Commissioner Stephen 
B. French, John F. Smyth, of Albany, and ex-Senator John P. 
Jones, of Nevada, and remained until 8.30. Then he ordered 
a coupe, and, with Commissioner French, went to his residence. 
Prior to leaving the hotel, Gen. Arthur repeated his remark that 
he would not go to Washington until officially notified of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 67 

death of the President. At 9 o'clock Gen. Arthur was at home, 
and was talking over the event of the day with Commissioner 
French. 

A short time before 10 o'clock it was rumored in the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel that Gen. Arthur had decided to start at once for 
Washington ; but the servant who opened the door of his resi- 
dence in answer to the reporter's ring of the bell, said that 
though the Vice-President had left the house he had not gone 
to Washington. The general returned to the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel, and was with ex-Senator Conkling, John F. Smyth, Sena- 
tor Jones, and others. A telegraphic despatch sent from Wash- 
ington at 9.30 o'clock to Gen. Arthur, and signed by the Secre- 
tary of the Navy and the Postmaster-General, was as follows ; 

Washington, July 2, 1881. 
Hon. Chester A. Arthur^ New YorJc : 

Sincere thanks for your expressions of sympathy. The 
President is no better, and we fear sinking. 

WILLIAM H. HUNT, 
THOMAS L. JAMES. 

After the receipt of this despatch, Gen. Arthur consulted with 
his friends again upon the advisability of his going to Washing- 
ton, and he at length declared his attention of taking the mid- 
night train for Washington. 

Gen. Arthur, ex-Senator Conkling, Senator Jones, ard Commis- 
sioner French entered a coach at the Fifth Avenue Hotel a few 
minutes after 11 o'clock last night, and took the last boat of the 
Desbrosses Street Ferry, arriving before the departure of the 
midnight train for Washington. At the Jersey City depot 
Commissioner French was the first to alight. Following him 
was Mr. Conkling, who carried two large satchels. Behind were 
Gen. Arthur and Senator Jones, and Detective Frank Cosgrove, 
of the Central OfiBce. A section had been secured in the Pull- 
man sleeper Kensington, which was just forward of the sleeper 
Chester. Gen. Arthur reiterated his opinion that there was 
nothing for him to say for publication when accosted by 
reporters. He hurried to his section with Senator Jones and 
the detective. Ex-Senator Conkling shook the general's hand 
warmly, and saying, " God bless you, I'll see you on Thursday," 
stepped out on the platform. Commissioner French then 
bade the general good-by and went to the platform. As the train 
started Commissioner French stepped off, but Mr. Conkling re- 



68 TBB ASSASSINATION OF 

mained on the lower step of the platform until the train had 
almost emerged from the depot. Then he too left the car and 
joined Mr. French. Mr. Conkling said that it was decidedly 
proper for Gen. Arthur to go to Washington without further 
delay, as in the event of the President's death he would be in 
Washington, and if the President did not die it was equally 
proper that the Vice-President should be there. Mr. Conkling 
and Mr. French returned to New York at 12.30 this morning by 
way of the Desbrosses Street Ferry. 

MRS. Garfield's sorrow. 

A Day of Expected Pleasure turned into one of Endless Mourn- 
ing — Her Departure for Washington — General Granfs 
Sentiments. 

Elberon, N. J., July 2, 1881. 
The wife of the President received the dreadful news this 
morning as bravely as the bravest woman could. It reached 
her under no ordinary circumstances, and the worst effects might 
have been justly apprehended. It came at a time when Mrs. 
Garfield was barely convalescent from a severe illness, and in an 
hour when she was looking forward with pleasant anticipations 
to a meeting with the President. She was waiting for the 
train which would convey her to Jersey City, the place of meet- 
ing, when the information came that her husband had fallen by 
the bullet of an assassin. The millions of hearts that throbbed 
for the sick and patient wife all over the land would have ached 
to see her acute suffering. But she bore it all with pale, firm 
lips, and in the two long hours she had to pass before starting 
for Washington her self-control never once deserted her. Per- 
haps it was fortunate that her daughter, Mollie, was the only 
one of her children that remained with her. The two little 
boys, Irving and Abram Garfield, had left Elberon on Friday 
noon in the care of Mrs. Dr. Boynton, The dangerous illness 
of her sister-in-law had called Mrs. Boynton to Ohio, and as the 
two boys would have to return soon for school it was decided 
that they should go with her. Thus Mrs. Garfield was spared 
at least the additional burden of their care in such a harrowing 
time. 

PREPARING FOR PLEASURE. 

Last evening General D. D. Swaim, United States Army, 
reached Elberon from Washington to accompany the party to 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD.. 69 

Jersey City. The programme was that the President would 
join them there, at the Pennsylvania depot, and all were to 
embark upon the yacht of Mr. Cyrus W. Field, with whom 
they were to spend Sunday and Monday at Irvington on the 
Hudson. The trunks were packed last evening and everything 
made ready for the trip. The Elberon party consisted of Mrs. 
Garfield, Miss Mollie Garfield, Mrs. A. F. Rockwell and her 
daughter, and General Swaim. Mrs. Garfield had been improv- 
ing so rapidly that her friends declared with pleasure she 
was her old self once more. Each day of late she had been 
driving and walking and getting all the benefit which the breath 
of old ocean could afford her. This morning she was in better 
spirits than usual, and spoke gayly of the expected meeting with 
the President. AH things augured well for their excursion, and 
the day itself was one of Elberon's best. The hotel was early 
filled with people from the neighboring cottages, who were one 
and all bent upon sharing the excitement of the first day's 
racing at Monmouth Park. The regular guests of the hotel 
were sauntering leisurely from their breakfast tables; some 
had gone for a stroll along the beach ; a few energetic ones 
were playing tennis upon the lawn, and every minute saw 
fresh arrivals in handsome equipages at the Elberon's doors. 
The races were uppermost in the anticipation of all. Mrs. Garfield 
and her companions breakfasted in their rooms, according to 
their custom, and were whiling away the time until the 12,22 
train should arrive to take them to their rendezvous. 

THE FIRST DESPATCH. 

At about ten minutes after ten o'clock a messenger ran in 
breathless haste from the Elberon station to the hotel bearing 
a despatch for Mrs. Garfield. It was signed by A. S. Brown, 
the Superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company 
at Washington, and urged Mrs. Garfield not to put too much 
weight upon the many rumors that were flying in every direc- 
tion about the President's injuries. This was the first intima- 
tion received that the President had been injured ; but fast upon 
the heels of the first despatch came another from Colonel Cor- 
bin to General Swaim that the President had been shot in the 
depot of the Baltimore and Potomac Railway, and asking him 
to break the news gently to Mrs. Garfield. While General 
Swaim went to perform this duty the alarming news spread 
among the people in the hotel and around the groun.da and filled 



70 THE ASSASSINATION OJf 

every mind with consternation. Pleasure faded instantly from 
the scene and mourning took its place. Deserting their amuse- 
ments they crowded around the little telegraph stall in the oflSce 
of the hotel, and a solemn silence ensued as if they were in the 
presence of death itself. General Swaim came down stairs 
pale and agitated after his distressing interview with Mrs. Gar- 
field. What she said was only known to the few who stood 
around her ; but General Swaim replied, when dozens of persons 
asked him how the lady bore it, that she stood the ordeal with- 
out a single outcry. 

" GOD REIGNS." 

Soon followed a despatch from the President's secretary, 
which read : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
General Swaim, Elheron, N. J.: 

We have the President safely and comfortably settled in his 
room at the Executive Mansion. His pulse is strong and nearly 
normal. So far as I can detect, from what the surgeons say 
and from his general condition, I feel very hopeful. Come on 
as soon as you can get special. Advise me of movements of 
your train and when you can be expected. As the President 
said upon a similar occasion sixteen years ago, " God reigns and 
the government at Washington still lives." 

A. F. ROCKWELL. 

This was immediately conveyed to Mrs. Garfield by General 
Swaim, and a copy of it was read with tear-filled eyes by the 
spectators. Only a few days before the President, as well as 
the writer of that despatch, had stood where they stood, at a 
time when the Chief Magistrate had taken a few days' respite 
from the cares of his great office, and was enjoying his wife's 
returning health and the first quiet he himself had experienced 
since he accepted the Presidential chair in March. The sudden 
transition was more than those who saw him then could bear, 
and imprecations upon the head of his assailant mingled with 
their tremulous words of sorrow. The news had meanwhile 
spread all over Long Branch, and it was there believed that the 
President was dead. Several of the hotels had their flags at 
half-mast, business stands were deserted, amusements were for- 
gotteu; ?ipd thousands of people gathered around the West End 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 71 

to await further tidings. The knowledge that Mrs. Garfield was 
at the Elberon took a continuous string of carriages in that 
direction. General Grant's cottage was not far away, and some 
of them went there upon the supposition that the General might 
have received fuller information. They were disappointed 
and returned to the Elberon. All of General Grant's despatches 
came by the Elberon line, and they were no more complete than 
the others. 

GENERAL GRANT CALLS. 

About eleven o clock General Grant drove up to the Elberon 
unaccompanied, and obtained an interview with the President's 
wife. When he came down-stairs again he stopped for a mo- 
ment to speak with a group of gentlemen, among whom were 
Messrs. Robert Lennox Kennedy, H. Victor Newcombe, and D. 
G. Goodwin, U. S. A. The General said that he was astonished at 
the firmness and courage displayed by Mrs. Garfield. He was 
very much moved himself, and said that he could not under- 
stand how such a thing could happen in America. He sur- 
mised that it was the work of either an insane man or a Nihilist ; 
and " if it was a Nihilist," he added with determination, " it is 
time that this country suppressed Nihilism." 

Despatches came pouring in now, and bit by bit the situation 
of affairs in Washington began to be understood. The operator 
was overrun by people who wanted to send inquiries to the 
capital at the very time that they were coming thence as fast 
as he could possibly receive them. The proprietor of the 
Elberon, Mr. C. T. Jones, had some of the despatches posted at 
the hotel office, where all might read them. One came from 
Dr. Bliss, at Washington, offering Mrs. Garfield such encourage- 
ment as was possible under the circumstances. Another from 
Colonel Corbin to General Swaim informed him that they were 
trying to arrange for a special train to take the Presidential 
party from Jersey City to Washington. It was decided, partly 
to save Mrs. Garfield from further suspense in waiting, and partly 
to be in readiness for taking the Washington train as soon as 
it was ready, that she should go to the Long Branch station at 
once. Mr. Newcombe promptly tendered the use of his coupe, 
and in that Mrs. Garfield was taken to the railway station, about 
an eighth of a mile distant. Mr. Jones took the rest of the party 
to the station in carriages, and provided a man servant to accom- 
pany them all the way to the capital. When Mrs. Garfield 



72 THE A8aA8amATI0N OF 

emerged from the hotel her face was terribly pale, but her feat- 
ures were composed. 

OFF FOR WASHINGTON. 

The party got In the last car on the 12.22 train of the Cen- 
tral Railroad of New Jersey and alighted five minutes later at the 
Long Branch station. Despatches were flying up and down the 
road in the mean time, and it was arranged that instead of going 
by way of Jersey City a special train should be made up at 
Long Branch to go by way of Monmouth Junction. Mr. Watts, 
the train superintendent on the New York division of the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad, telegraphed to Mr. Stearns, superintendent of 
the New Jersey Central at Long Branch, that an engine and 
special car at Long Branch were at the immediate service of 
Mrs. Garfield for the through trip to Washington. This engine 
(No. 729) and car had run as a special train from Philadelphia 
in the morning and was waiting orders at Long Branch. Mr. 
Stearns communicated with General Swaim, and the offer was 
promptly accepted. Mr. Neiman, the train despatcher at Long 
Branch, hurriedly arranged for the start, and at half-past twelve 
o'clock all was ready. Mrs. Garfield left the station, in which 
she had been waiting, to take a seat in the car, with Mrs. Rock- 
well beside her. All the baggage belonging to the party was 
stowed at the rear end of the car, and they started at full 
speed and with a clear track. There was one stop at Sea- 
bright to change conductors, and again the train sped on for 
the capital. They expected to pass Philadelphia at twenty-two 
minutes past two by way of Mantua, reach Baltimore at about 
half-past four, where they would change locomotives, and then 
run through to Washington. 

LATER DESPATCHES. 

After Mrs. Garfield left Elberon a multitude of despatches 
leached the hotel, some of which were forwarded to Mrs. Gar- 
tield en route. One addressed to General Grant read as fol- 
lows; 

New York, July 2, 1881. 
General U. S. Grant, Mberon, N. J. : 

At noon Blaine reports the President's condition to be seri- 
ous, but the wounds are not necessarily fatal. Other despatches 
indicate his condition as precarious, but it is hoped that his 
vigorous ooustitution may pull him through. J. R. Y. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 73 

Another came to the Elberon and was telegraphed to tho 
special train, which read : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To Mrs. Garfield, Elberon, N. J. : 

The President wishes me to say to you for him that he has 
been seriously hurt. How seriously he cannot say. He is him- 
self and hopes you will come to him soon. He sends his love 
to you. 

(2) RecU A. F. ROCKWELL. 

Despatches were afterwards bulletined from Mr. G. C. Clarke 
at Washington, and were eagerly scanned by the people who 
yet clung about the hotel. They were as follows : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To the Elberon : 

The best information we can obtain is that the President is 
lying in a critical condition. One of the balls is supposed to 
have entered his bowels. G. C. CLARKE. 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To the Elberon : 

Garfield hopeful, but one of his wounds may prove fatal. 
Indications are rather favorable. CLARKE. 

THE WORST EXPECTED. 

Just when the people at Elberon and Long Branch were 
beginning to be hopeful for the recovery of the President these 
feelings were again depressed by the receipt of the following : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To the Elberon : 

Report says that the President is sinking rapidly. Stimulants 
are being administered. G. C. CLARKE. 

At three o'clock or a little thereafter the following was received 
amid expressions of the greatest sorrow : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 2.45 p.m. 
To Elberon Hotel : 
Physicians say that President Garfield cannot recover. 

A. S. BROWN. 
4 



74 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 



THE president's MOTHER. 

Cleveland, 0., July 2. — The President's aged mother is 
in Solon, forty miles from Cleveland, and the first thought was 
what effect the shock might have on her great age and feeble- 
ness. She is a guest of her daughters, Mrs. Mary G. Larabee 
and Mrs. Mehetable Trowbridge, upon their farms, one mile east 
of Solon. A reporter visited Solon to-day, and drove out to the 
Larabee homestead, where he met Mrs. Larabee, Mrs. Trow- 
bridge, and the daughter of the former. " What have you heard 
from Washington?" was the anxious inquiry that greeted him, 
as he appeared at the doorway. Upon being informed that the 
news at two o'clock was of an encouraging nature, the ladies were 
partly relieved of their anxiety, and entered into conversation 
concerning the sad event. " How does Mrs. Garfield bear the 
news?" "She has not heard a word of what has happened," 
replied Mrs. Larabee, " and we are afraid to break the news to 
her. Mother has had so much trouble of late, that we dare not 
excite her at this time. She was not informed of Mrs. Arnold's 
death, which occurred on Thursday night, until this morning, 
and it has prostrated her. The death of Uncle Thomas produced 
a great shock on her nerves and she was unable to attend his 
funeral. Mother is so wrapped up in James that this will cer- 
tainly kill her." " Have you received tidings from any mem- 
bers of the President's family ?" was asked. " We received a 
telegram a short time ago from Harry Garfield, addressed to his 
grandmother, but further than this we have heard nothing from 
the family," was the reply of Mrs. Trowbridge. The following 
is a copy of the message mentioned above : 

Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C, July 2. 
To Mrs. Eliza Garfield, Solon, Ohio : 

Don't be alarmed by sensational rumors ; doctor thinks it will 
not be fatal. Don't think of coming until you hear further. 

HARRY A. GARFIELD. 

" You had learned of the attempted assassination before the 
receipt of this message ?" suo-gested the reporter inquiringly. 
" We knew nothing of what had happened until the arrival of 
the noon train with copies of an extra," replied Mrs. Trowbridge. 
" My daughter from Brooklyn Village came down from Cleve- 
land this morning, and brought us a copy containing the terri- 
ble news. We could not at first believe it. But as we read the 




imS. ELIZA GARFIELD, MOTHER OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 75 

bulletins we became satisfied they were only too true. A short 
time later we received Harry's despatch, from which we drew as 
much comfort as possible. After that we had no news until 
you arrived." It was decided that the aged lady should not be 
told the awful news, at least until morning, when better news 
might be at hand, and when she might have more strength to 
bear it. 

BREAKING THE NEWS TO HER AS GENTLY AS POSSIBLE. 

Cleveland, 0., July 3. — The news of the shooting of the 
President was broken to his mother this forenoon at Solon. She 
had been so much overcome by the fatal accident which resulted 
in the death of Thomas Garfield and Mrs. Arnold that the family 
had kept from her the intelligence of the attempted assassina- 
tion. But this morning she felt better, and spoke of attending 
Mrs. Arnold's funeral, w^hich took place at Bedford to-day. In 
announcing her intention she remarked, " Last Saturday, Thomas 
was buried; to-day, Cornelia. I wonder who it will be next 
Sunday." 

Mrs. Trowbridge, at whose house she then was, sent for Mrs. 
Larabee, another daughter. When the latter arrived Mrs. Gar- 
field inquired whether she was going to Mrs. Arnold's funeral. 
Mrs. Larabee replied that she guessed she could not, as some- 
thing had happened, so the sister thought it best not to go. 

" What has happened ?" inquired Mrs. Garfield. 

" We have heard that James is hurt," replied Mrs. Larabee. 

" How ? By the cars ?" asked the mother. 

" No, he was shot by an assassin, but he was not killed," 
answered the daughter. 
^ " The Lord help me !" exclaimed Mrs. Garfield. 

Mrs. Larabee assured her mother that the latest reports were 
favorable, and showed that the President was resting quietly 
and in a fair way to recover. 

" When did you hear this ?" queried Mrs. Garfield. 

" Yesterday noon, but we thought it best not to tell you. The 
news was not as favorable as to-day," was the reply. 

" You were very thoughtful. I am glad you did not tell me," 
said Mrs. Garfield, adding that she thought something had hap- 
pened, as she had noticed that the manner of her daughter had 
been peculiar towards her yesterday. She bore up under the 
intelligence with much fortitude. She was shown despatches 



7C THE ASSASSINATION OF 

received from Major Swaim, Secretary Judd, and Harry Gar- 
tield, the one from the last-named reading as follows : 

Washington, D. C, July 3. 
Mrs. Eliza Garfield^ Solon, Ohio : 

Thank God, he lives this morning, and the doctors are very 
hopeful. He has been perfectly himself all the time. 

HARRY A. GARFIELD, 

She read the despatches calmly, and said, " How could any- 
body be so cold-hearted as to want to kill my baby ?" 

In general conversation she expressed wonder as to what was 
coming next, and inquired what would probably be done with 
the assassin. Upon some one saying " Hang him," she replied, 
" He deserves it." 

She does not contemplate going to Washington unless sent 
for, thinking she will be telegraphed for if necessary to go on. 
It being remarked to her that the news continued to grow favor- 
able, she said, " I am glad to hear it, but I am afraid we are 
hoping against fate. It seems terrible." 

This afternoon she dictated the following despateh to her 
grandson : 

Harry A. Garfield, Executive Mansion, Washington : 

The news was broken to me this morning and shocked me 
very much. Since receiving your telegram I feel much more 
hopeful. Tell James that I hear he is cheerful, and that I am 
glad of it. Tell him to keep in good spirits, and accept the love 
and sympathy of a mother, sisters, and friends. 

ELIZA GARFIELD. 

VICE-PRESIDENT ARTHUR AND SENATOR CONKLING APPALLED BY 
THE TRAGEDY. 

No description could do justice to the scenes about the Fifth 
Avenue and other uptown hotels yesterday. The news of the 
assassination was received in the forenoon, and as it went from 
mouth to mouth, people wondered and speculated and hoped 
that the President would recover. As later despatches were 
received and the crowd grew greater the interest increased and 
the Fifth Avenue Hotel corridors became almost one mass of 
men. They talked with bowed heads of the tragic event, and 
everybody had a sympathetic word for the stricken President 
and the members of his family. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 77 

Senator Conkling received the news as he left the Albany 
boat. He was very much affected, and for a time said nothinii'. 
Finally he raised his head and said: " My God, can this be 
true !" He went to the Fifth Avenue Hotel and walked across 
his room once or twice and then sank into a chair. He was very 
greatly affected, and remained seated for some time. At about 
noon he was joined by Vice-President Arthur. The General had 
read a despatch announcing the assassination while he was lea\- 
ing the Albany boat, and hastily repaired to Senator Conklini:'. 
The two gentlemen remained together for some time. They 
were both very much grieved, and whatever political differences 
they may have had with the President it was plain to be seen 
that they very greatly deplored the assassination. The Senatoi' 
and the Vice-President remained secluded for some time and 
refused to see any friends. Shortly after noon General Arthur 
hurriedly left the hotel and went to his residence. He returned 
later and remained with Senator Conkling during the evening. 

Senator Conkling did not desire to make any statement for 
publication. His sorrow at the event was plainly to be seen, 
and nothing he could say would make it the more evident. 

General Arthur said he could say nothing about the matter. 
" What can I say," he remarked, " except that I am like every- 
body else, overwhelmed with grief? I was thunderstruck at the 
news when I received it, and have not as yet recovered. I will 
not go to Washington until I receive official notification of the 
death of the President." 

At about fourteen minutes past twelve p.m. General Arthur 
received the following despatch : 

Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To the Hon. Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President of the United 
States, JVo. 120 Lexington Avenue, New York City,N. Y. : 
The President of the United States was shot this morning by 
an assassin named Charles Guiteau. The weapon was a large- 
sized revolver. The President had just reached the Baltimore 
and Potomac Station at about twenty minutes past nine, intend- 
ing, with a portion of his Cabinet, to leave on the limited express 
for New York. I rode in the carriage with him from the 
Executive Mansion. Was walking by his side when he was shot. 
The assassin was immediately arrested and the President was 
conveyed to a private room in the station building and surgical 
aid at once summoned. He has now, at twenty past ten, been 



78 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

removed to the Executive Mansion. The surgeons, on consulta- 
tion, regard his wounds as very serious, though not necessarily 
fatal. I will keep you advised of his condition. His vigorous 
health gives strong hopes of his recovery. He has not lost con- 
sciousness for a moment. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

At two o'clock General Arthur received the following : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D.C, July 2, 1881. 
To Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President of the United States, No. 
120 Lexington Avenue, New York City : 
At this hour, one o'clock p.m., the President's symptoms are 
not regarded as unfavorable, but no definite assurance can be 
given until after the probing of the wound at 3 o'clock. There 
is strong ground for hope, and at the same time the gravest 
anxiety as to the final result. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

At four P.M. the Vice-President received the following de- 
spatch : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President of the United States, No. 
120 Lexington Avenue, or Fifth Avenue Hotel, NeivYorJc City, 
N. Y. : 

At this hour — half -past three — the symptoms of the Presi- 
dent are not favorable. Anxiety deepens. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

This telegram was followed by the following : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President of the United States, New 
York City, N. Y. : 

At this hour — six o'clock — the condition of the President is 
very alarming. He is losing his strength and the worst may be 
apprehended. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State, 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 79 

Later the following was received : 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881. 
To Hon. Chester A. Arthur, Vice-President, New York City, 
N. T. : 

Mrs. Garfield has just arrived — a quarter before seven o'clock. 
The President was able to recognize and converse with her, but 
in the judgment of his physicians he is rapidly sinking. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

ARTHUR REPLIES. 

General Arthur, in reply to these despatches, sent the follow- 
ing: 

New York, July 2, 1881. 
To the Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, 

D. C. : 

Your telegram, with its deplorable narrative, did not reach me 
promptly, owing to my absence. I am profoundly shocked at 
the dreadful news. The hopes you express relieve somewhat the 
horror of the first announcement. I await further intelligence 
with the greatest anxiety. Express to the President and those 
about him my great grief and sympathy, in which the whole 
American people will join. C. A. ARTHUR. 

New York, July 2, 1881. 
To the Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, 

D. C. : 

Your six forty-five telegram is very distressing. I still hope 
for more favorable tidings, and ask you to keep me advised. 
Please do not fail to express to Mrs. Garfield my deepest svm- 
pathy. C. A. ARTHUR. 

THE NIGHT IN THE FIFTH AVENUE. 

Senator Conkling remained in his room nearly all the evenino-. 
Early in the night he came down in the large corridor of the 
Fifth Avenue Hotel and conversed with ex-Governor Goodwin, 
of Arizona. When he returned to his room he was joined by 
ex-Insurance Superintendent Smyth and Police Commissioner 
French. General Arthur formed one of the party. The gentle- 
men remained together until late, and a number of despatches 



80 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

were received from Washington giving information about the 
President's condition. Senator Conlding spent most of the 
time in walking up and down his room, and several times gave 
vent to his feelings in remarks as to the horror he felt for the assas- 
sination. General Arthui was laboring under^gTeat emotion, and 
several times remarked that he thought the President would 
recover. Neither Mr. Smyth nor Mr. French seemed to share 
the Vice-President's opinion, but they said nothing. Senator 
Conkling still continued to pace up and down his room, and 
when General Arthur suggested the possibility of the President's 
recovery he shook his head sorrowfully and resumed his walk. 
The group was certainly as sad a one as could be expected. 
Every one was full of sorrow at the terrible calamity that has 
befallen the President and his family, and all had a sympathetic 
word for the Chief Magistrate. 

Towards eight o'clock the corridors of the Fifth Avenue Hotel 
became very crowded. Ingress and egress were extremely dif- 
ficult, and policemen were stationed at the staircases and entrances 
to the hotel. There was most intense excitement and everybody 
conversed in whispers. Sorrow was depicted on every face, and 
the feeling was universal that the death of the President would 
be an almost irreparable loss. 

A TERRIBLE DEATH-WATCH. 

Scenes in the Presidents Chamber Saturday Night — His Anx- 
iety about Mrs. Garfield and His Joy on Her Arrival — 
Touching Incidents. 

Washington, July 3. — Never since the 14th of April, 1865, 
when the citizens of the entire nation were looking for the 
momentary death of the martyred Lincoln, has the White House 
been the scene of such a terrible death-watch as it was last night. 
Whether the President lives or dies, the night of the 2d of July 
will forever mark an era in the history of the Executive Man- 
sion, and the incidents of that night, when the life of President 
Garfield hung trembling in the balance, will be read with in- 
terest so long as the English language is read or spoken. The 
full particulars of that night of anxious watching and fearful 
forebodings will probably never be written. The actors in the 
scene were too busy and too much excited by their fears to re- 
member half of the little incidents which go to make up the 
tragic story ; but some dim picture^ of the terrible life drama 
which was enacted in the President's chamber, while the whole 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 81 

world was awaiting with breathless anxiety its culmination, may 
be drawn at this time, while the actors of it still hold its promi- 
nent features fresh in their memoiy. The Times correspondent 
has seen and conversed with most of the ladies and gentlemen 
who passed the night in the White House, hoping and fearing 
alternately for the safety of the life of the chief Executive of a 
great nation, and the stories which they relate, while they serve 
to make a graphic picture of a scene which all Americans will 
look upon with intense interest, serve still more forcibly to de- 
pict the character of President Garfield, and to place him before 
the world as a husband and father as he never could have been 
known but for the attempt made upon his life yesterday by the 
assassin Guitean 

From the time of the shooting m the Baltimore and Potomac 
depot yesterday morning until very nearly midnight, but little, 
if any, hopes of saving the President's life were entertained by 
the physicians who attended him. It is safe to say that but for 
the remarkably abstemious course of life which he had pursued 
from boyhood up he never would have rallied from the chock. 
His one thought, when it became possible for him to think 
calmly at all after being removed to his chamber in the Execu- 
tive Mansion, was for his wife and children. He feared the 
effect of the terrible news upon Mrs. Garfield, and he was anx- 
ious to haive her and their daughter Mollie with him, that he 
might reassure them, if possible, and look upon them for the 
last time if it was decreed that he should die. He was very 
weak at this time, and to all appearances sinking fast. He was 
told by Mrs. James, wife of the Postmaster-General, and Mrs. 
Hunt, who were doing all that sympathetic women could do to 
make him comfortable, that Mrs. Garfield would be with him by 
six o'clock. Every moment seemed an age to the fast sinking- 
father and nusband. He turned restlessly in his bed and asked 
the time of day continually. It was evident that his anxiety to 
meet Mrs. Garfield was aggravating the effect of" the wounds 
which he had received, but nothing could be done. Six o^'clock 
came, and with it, instead of Mrs. Garfield, the news that the 
engine of her train had broken down seventeen miles outside of 
Washington. This news was carefully kept from the suffering- 
President, and a fresh engine started off to take the place of the 
disabled one. It brought Mrs. Garfield, Mollie Garfield, Gen. 
Swaim, and Mrs. Rockwell to the citv, at the rate of sixty miles 
4» 



8^ THE ASSASSINATION OF 

an hour, and at 6.50 the party drove up to tlie private entrance 
in the rear of the White House. 

Here the ahnost heart-broken wife was met by her son James 
A. Garfield, Jr., Mrs. James, and Attorney-General MacVeagh. 
She placed her hands in those of Mrs. James, and directing a 
piercing inquiry into her eyes, exclaimed interrogatively, "Well?" 
" Oh, everything is going on beautifully," said Mrs. James, in 
reply, " only he must not be excited. You must be very calm 
when you meet him." Mrs. Garfield had nerved herself for the 
ordeal and she answered simply, but with great firmness, " I 
can do it." The party then went sadly up the stairs, young 
James A. Garfield with his arm about his mother's waist. Ar- 
rived in the library, everybody but Mrs. Garfield paused, and the 
doctors withdrew with bowed heads from the President's cham- 
ber. Mrs. Garfield passed quickly in, and the door was closed. 
Of that soleriin meeting between husband and wife no record 
will ever be given. The two were alone together, without wit- 
nesses. At the end of about fifteen minutes the door opened, 
and Mrs. Garfield came slowly out. There were no tears in her 
eyes, and she walked with a firm step and took her seat in the 
library. She was very brave and bore up nobly under the great 
blow which had fallen upon her. As she left the room Mrs. 
James passed in. The President was smiling and he beckoned 
with his finger to the lady to approach. She leaned over the 
President and he said, " Have you met Crete ?" Mrs. Gar- 
field's Christian name is Lucretia, and Crete is the pet name by 
which the President always speaks of her. " Yes, I have met 
her," said Mrs. James. " And how does she act ; how did she 
bear it?" was the next eager question. "She bore it like the 
true wife of a true soldier," answered Mrs. James. " Ah, the 
dear little woman," exclaimed the President. " I would rather 
die than that this should cause a relapse to her." 

Soon after Miss Mollie entered the room. She, too, was very 
Itrave, and forced herself to assume a calmness which she could 
lit feel. Advancing steadily towards her father as he lay on 
what was supposed to be his death-bed, she said, " O papa ! 
I'm so glad to get back to you, but I'm so sorry to see you in 
this way." Then she kissed him, and the President, putting his 
arm around her neck, exclaimed, " Mollie, you are a brave, good 
little girl." " Well, I'm not going to talk with you now," said 
the stout-hearted little girl, as she tenderly removed his arm 
from her neck ; " wait till you get well," and with these parting 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 83 

words she kissed him again and turned and walked from the 
room, followed by a beaming smile from the President. 

From the moment of Mrs. Garfield's visit to him, the Presi- 
dent seemed to gain in strength and spirits, and if he recovers 
the doctors say that it will be due greatly to the presence of his 
devoted wife. After Mollie had left him he turned over, and 
with one hand clasped firmly in one of Mrs. James's, and his 
head resting upon her other hand, he fell into a gentle skep. In 
half an hour, however, he awoke and complained of a pain in 
his feet. It did not last long, and he dozed off again, still hold- 
ing the hand of Mrs. James. This time he slept a little over 
half an hour, and when he awoke he said to Mrs. James, " Do 
you know where Mrs. Garfield is now ?" " Oh, yes," Mrs. 
James answered, "she is close by, watching and praying for her 
husband." He looked up to the lady with an anxious face, and 
said, " I want her to go to bed. Will you tell her that I say if 
she will undress and go to bed I will turn right over, and I feel 
sure that when I know she is in bed I can go to sleep and sleep 
all night. Tell her," he exclaimed with sudden energy, " that I 
will sleep all night if slie will only do what I ask." Mrs. James 
conveyed the message to Mrs. Garfield, who said to her at once, 
" Go back and tell him that I am undressing." She returned with 
the answer, and the President turned over on his right side and 
dropped into a quiet sleep almost instantly. 

THE president's CONDITION ON SUNDAY MORNING. 

Joyful News for the Patient Watchers in and about the White 
House Followed by Discouraging Tidings — His Tender Nurses 
— A Good Omen — No Visitors Allowed to see the Patient — 
Incidents of the Day. 

Washington, July 3. — The feeling in this city has changed 
within the past twenty-four hours from that of the utmost alarm 
to one of hope and joy. On all sides the news has gone forth that 
the life of President Garfield is not despaired of by his physicians, 
and that they now believe, unless some totally unexpected crisis 
should be precipitated, that the President will live to continue 
the work which was begun with his administration. In this 
great crisis of his life, the President's early habits have come to 
his rescue. But for his robust frame and magnificent physique, 
the result of his abstinence and youthful training in the struggle 
for existence, there is not the slightest doubt that the shock of 



84 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the assault would have terminated fatally within twenty-four hours. 
The President, however, was prepared by long years of careful 
obedience to the laws of nature to resist the effects of the shock 
successfully, and when they had once passed away he had 
strength and energy enough left to fight for his life, and he is 
doing it now with the most encouraging prospects of eventual 
success in the conflict. His recovery, if he should recover, will 
require a long time, during which he will be forced to remain in 
his bed and to be kept perfectly quiet. All danger from inter- 
nal hemorrhage is now passed, and the only thing to be feared 
is inflammation of the wound. The healthy condition of the 
patient and the strictly abstemious course of life which he has 
pursued, together with the favorable weather, render this dan- 
ger much less than might be anticipated. The wound has been 
carefully bathed in cold water at frequent intervals during the 
entire day, and up to this evening no symptoms of inflammation 
have been observed. The mind of the President is perfectly 
clear and his nerves have recovered their normal condition. He 
is cheerful at all times, and manifests a disposition to talk freely 
to his medical and other attendants. This disposition is dis- 
couraged as much as possible by Dr. Bliss, who insists that his 
patient must be kept perfectly quiet and composed in his mind, 
and to secure this condition, all visitors, except Mrs. Garfield 
and the ladies of the Cabinet, have been excluded from the sick- 
room to-day, and these have been warned not to talk to the 
President except when it is absolutely necessary. 

The care and attention bestowed upon the wounded man have 
been all that could possibly be given, and no person had ever more 
tender nurses than President Garfield has had since the assassin 
marked him in the Baltimore and Potomac depot yesterday 
morning. The Cabinet ladies are nearly worn out by their long 
and anxious watching, but they look better to-day than they did 
yesterday, for the light of hope has taken the place of despair 
in their weary eyes. Mrs. James, Mrs. Hunt, Mrs. Blaine, Mrs. 
Windom, Mrs. MacVeagh, and Mrs. Lincoln have had very lit- 
tle sleep during the past forty-eight hours ; but the nature of the 
work in which they are engaged has nerved them to their task, 
and they show few signs of the weariness which they must feel. 

THE EARLY HOURS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The sun rose upon the capital of the nation this morning to 
find a throng of vigilant and anxious watchers at the gates of 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 85 

the Executive Mansion, many of whom had not left the spot 
during the entire night. The crowd was not so great and the 
excitement was not so intense as it had been yesterday, the 
reassuring bulletins issued late last night having sent many to 
their homes full of hope for the recovery of the President. But 
a large enough throng remained to make the early morning scene 
one of grave and intense interest. Sentries paced in front of 
the gate and kept the carriage-way clear, and within the grounds, 
on the lawn between the Executive Mansion and the Treasury 
building, the two military companies, which Secretary Lincoln 
had stationed at the White House, were bivouacked. Within 
the mansion, the only person who had slept for any consider- 
able time during the night was the wounded sufferer himself, 
and his sleep had been fitful and uneasy. Postmaster-General 
James, who had left the White House at three o'clock to secure a 
little needful rest, returned at five o'clock and passed up to the 
library. He remained nearly two hours, and upon his return the 
crowd pressed eagerly around him for news of the President. 
He brought good news. The favorable symptoms which had 
begun at about eleven o'clock last night had increased, and the 
doctors were really hopeful of saving the life of the chief Execu- 
tive of the nation, upon which so much depends. The announce- 
ment was received with heartfelt joy by those who heard it, and 
it was soon spread all over the city. Washington people are 
not, as a rule, early risers, but to-day the streets were alive with 
i'.ilu whom anxiety would not allow to sleep after the rising of 
the sun. The good news met them as a boon from heaven, and 
there were probably more devout thanksgivings silently rendered 
on this beautiful Sabbath than have ever gone up from this 
community before. The excitement expended itself yesterday. 
Men went to bed late last night or early this morning hoping 
for the best, but prepared for the worst, and to-day when they 
received the glad tidings of hope, they accepted them calmly 
and almost without comment. There were no large gatherings 
such as were to be seen yesterday. The newspapers were read 
eagerly, and when the New York journals arrived at noon the 
supply was exhausted before a fiftieth part of the demand had 
been met. 



86 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



THE ATTENDANTS ON THE SUFFERER. 

The experience of the crowds at the Executive Mansion yes- 
terday, and the inconvenience which they occasioned, with the 
possible danger to the President, was not lost upon the doctors, 
and to-day they insisted that no person except the Cabinet Min- 
isters and members of the diplomatic corps should be allowed 
to pass beyond the vestibule of the White House. Only a few 
favored ones were furnished with cards admitting them to the 
grounds, and the result was that the noise and confusion and 
excitement of yesterday were avoided. The Executive Mansion 
was comparatively deserted, only those whose business demanded 
their presence being allowed to enter. Mrs. Garfield, who, at 
the request of her husband, had retired at about midnight, made 
her appearance in the library, which communicates with the 
sick-chamber, at 5.30 o'clock. The President was awake, and 
Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Blaine, with Dr. Bliss, were in attendance 
upon him. Mrs. Garfield, who has borne up with remarkable 
courage ever since she was brought face to face with the terrible 
realities of the position, passed into the President's room and 
greeted the sufferer with a smile of encouragement, receiving in 
return a happy smile of welcome. It was evident that the Pres- 
ident was in a much more hopeful condition than when she had 
left him last night, and Dr. Bliss assured her that the prospects 
for his recovery were now good. The President suffered terri- 
bly at times from pain in his feet and limbs, but he was stronger 
than he had been, and his pulse was slowly but most surely fall- 
ing towards its normal condition. Mrs. Garfield seated herself 
by the bed of her husband, and took his hand in her own. She 
remained with him for the greater part of the entire day, only 
leaving him at intervals for a few moments at a time. 

At about 8 o'clock this morning the President fell into a 
gentle slumber which lasted, with occasional breaks, until 9.30. 
Half an hour later the first official bulletin of the day, signed by 
Dr. Bliss, was posted on the gates of the grounds of the Execu- 
tive Mansion and in all the prominent hotels of the city. It 
announced that the President hau rested quietly and awakened 
much refreshed, and that his improved condition gave additional 
hopes of his gradual recovery. His pulse at this time registered 
114, his respiration was recorded at 18, and his temperature was 
nearly normal. The news was received throughout the city with 



PRESIDENT OARFIELB. 87 

universal expressions of joy and thanksgiving, and telegraphed 
all over the country to reassure the waiting and anxious citizens. 

A GOOD OMEN. 

In the mean time, the members of the Cabinet who had been 
snatching little seasons of sleep after the exhausting watch of 
last night, began to appear in the Cabinet room and the library 
with their ladies. The gentlemen looked far more weary and 
careworn than the ladies, who had done the actual watching at 
the bedside of the President. They had waited during the 
night in the outer rooms with nothing but their sad thoughts 
and fears to bear them company, while their wives had been 
occupied in attending to the duties of the sick-room, and this 
had to a certain extent relieved them from the wear and tear of 
their anxious forebodings. Secretary Blaine wore the most 
woebegone look of all the Cabinet. He flitted in and out of 
the library like a spirit who could find no rest. Postmaster- 
General James and Mrs. James started from the Arlington for 
the Executive Mansion at 9.30. As they were stepping to the 
sidewalk fronting the grounds, a passing horse cast a shoe, and 
it fell directly in front of Mrs. James. " That is a good omen," 
she said, as she stooped and picked it up, " and it will please 
the President." It is well known that Gen. Garfield is inclined 
to attach some slight importance to omens, and Mrs. James 
faithfully carried the horseshoe to the Executive Mansion and 
deposited it in the chamber of the sick man, who smiled pleas- 
antly as she told the story of the incident. Secretary Hunt 
looked sad and gloomy as he strode silently around the library. 
Secretary Windom was not inclined to talk, and Attorney- 
General MacVeagh wore a face of mingled sternness and sorrow 
as he glided in and out of the Cabinet chamber. Sir Edward 
Thornton, the British Minister, was early at the White House, 
with a message from Sir H. Ponsonby stating that the Queen 
desired to have the latest news of the President's condition sent 
by cable. Commissioner Raum, the Hon. Marshall Jewell, 
Prince de Camporeale, the Italian Charge d' Affaires, and Senor 
Don Francisco Barca, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Pleni- 
potentiary of Spain, with cable messages of sympathy and con- 
dolence, also called in the early morning hours and at different 
times throughout the day. Nobody, however, was allowed to 
penetrate beyond the library, and the greater number of the 



88 TEE ASSASSINATION OP 

callers were not permitted to approach nearer to the President 
than the room of his private secretary, Stanley Brown. The 
physicians were imperative in their orders that none but the 
ladies in attendance upon him should be allowed to enter the 
presence of the wounded Chief Magistrate, and their orders were 
faithfully obeyed to the letter. Senator John P. Jones, of Ne- 
vada, called later in the day and sent in his card, with a message 
expressing the deepest regret for the assault, to the President. 

MORE JOYFUL NEWS. 

At 11 o'clock the second oflficial bulletin appeared, with the 
signature of Dr. Bliss attached. The good news of the preceding 
hour was confirmed and increased. " The President's condition," 
it read, "is greatly improved. He secures sufficient refreshing 
sleep, and during his waking hours is cheerful and inclined to 
discuss pleasant topics. His pulse stands at 106, with more 
fulness and a soft expression. His temperature and respiration 
are now normal." This announcement was hailed with joy by 
the waiting crowd in front of the Executive Mansion and through- 
out the city. Soon after it was made Dr. Bliss was standing by 
the bedside of the President. Gen. Garfield extended his hand 
and pressed that of the doctor, and a smile lighted up his pale 
face. The grasp of his hand was almost as firm and steady as 
it had been when in the enjoyment of peifect health. " Doctor," 
he said, " you have changed my programme a little. I had pre- 
pared to meet death philosophically, but you have changed all 
that." The confidence in his own power of resistance, which is 
better than all the medicine to a sinking man, had taken posses- 
sion of the President. " I believe he has made up his mind 
that he won't die, and that he will fight it off," said one of the 
attendants in describing this scene. An hour later the confi- 
dence of both Dr. Bliss and the President in his ultimate recov- 
ery was demonstrated by an order given to Private Secretary 
Brown to inform Drs. Smith, Townshend, of the Health Office ; 
C. M. Ford, P. S. Wales, Surgeon-General of the Navy; C. B. 
Purvis, C. C. Patterson, Basil Norris, N. S. Lincoln, and J. B. 
Hamilton, Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service, who 
have been attending on the President with Dr. Bliss, that the 
symptoms of recovery were so favorable that, for the present at 
least, their further attendance would not be necessary, and 
thanking them for their valuable services. The case was thus 



PHESIDENT GARFIELD. 89 

left entirely in the hands of Dr. Bliss, who was the first physician 
called in after the shooting. 

The President, however, was by no means easy on his bed of 
sickness. The twitching pains in the feet and limbs attacked 
him at intervals, and he suffered terribly while they lasted. At 
1 o'clock he called for the New York papers, and Mrs. Garfield 
read the editorial columns to him. He then fell into a gentle 
sleep, from which he awoke, however, in about half an hour, 
with the pains attacking him again. At 2 o'clock a fresh bul- 
letin was issued for the information of the public. It said: 
"The President has slept a good deal since the last bulletin, 
though occasionally suffering from pain in both feet and ankles. 
His pulse is now 104, respiration 18, and temperature nearly 
normak While the President is by no means out of danger, yet 
his symptoms continue favorable." It was evident from this 
bulletin that Dr. Bliss still feared a relapse, and the hopeful 
feelings which had been created by the announcements since 10 
o'clock were slightly dampened. At about this time a despatch 
was received from Mrs. Garfield, the mother of the President, 
who is at Mentor, asking if she might come to see her son. A 
reassuring answer was sent to her, and she was advised not to 
come, for the present at least. 

SOME UNFAVORABLE SYMPTOMS. 

The President rested well until about 3 o'clock, when Mrs. 
James left the White House for the Arlington, Mrs. Hunt decid- 
ing to remain all night. She took a little rest, however, in the 
library, and turns at watching the President were taken by Mrs. 
Blaine, Mrs. Windom, Mrs. Lincoln, and Mrs. MacVeagh. At a 
iHttle after 3 o'clock the President awoke, and seeing Dr. Bliss 
standing by his bed asked him what the chance for his recovery 
was. " The symptoms are very critical," was the answer. " Do 
you think I shall get well ?" asked the President, pressing for a 
direct answer. " There is a possibility of your recovery," said 
the doctor, declining to commit himself to the direct answer 
which the President evidently sought. "Then, doctor," said 
the sick man, grasping his arm with a firm hand, " we'll accept 
the possibility, and I'll help you all I can." After this little 
episode the President again dropped into a sleep, but it was not 
a continuous one, being composed of short naps from which he 
was constantly awakening. About 5 o'clock this morning, when 



90 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the sun was well up in the heavens, he awoke from one of these 
short naps, and, in answer to a question by Dr. Bliss, said, " I 
feel much better every way, except that I still have that terrible 
pain in my feet." Throughout the night, whenever he was at- 
tacked by these pains, his sufferings were excruciating, but he 
bore them all bravely and made no complaints. His one thought 
seemed to be that his wife and children must not be made to 
suffer more than was absolutely necessary from the crime which 
had attacked his life. 

While these mournful scenes which are to form a part of the 
nation's history were being enacted in the President's chamber 
at the south-west corner of the Executive Mansion, the rooms of 
his private secretary in the eastern wing were crowded by 
scores of men who were waiting anxiously for bulletins from the 
sick-room. A great number of cards of admission had been 
issued, and many not having cards managed to pass through the 
gate to the grounds and gain an entrance to the White House. 
The throng in the secretary's rooms annoyed the doctors, but 
everybody wanted to stay all night in order to get the latest 
news of the President's condition. The people who had gained 
admittance showed no signs of retiring, and finally, at 11 
o'clock. Secretary Brown gave the order to put out the lights, 
and by this action succeeded in clearing the rooms. 

At 10 o'clock to-night the condition of the President was 
reported by the physicians to be less favorable. The pulse 
had risen to 120, temperature to 100°, and respiration to 20. 
He was also more restless at that hour, and again complained 
of pain in his feet. The physicians, however, say that this 
changed condition of their patient does not necessarily imply 
that the chances of recovery are decreased. The increased 
pulse and temperature are partially accounted for by the fact 
that a few minutes before the 10 o'clock bulletin was issued 
the President's clothing was changed, which would have the 
effect to produce some restlessness, and thus increase the pulse 
and temperature. Besides, the time has about arrived when 
inflammation may be naturally expected. Thus far there has 
been less than the usual amount of inflammation considering the 
character of the wound ; but the physicians say inflammation is 
an inevitable consequence, and that during its continuance the 
patient will exhibit less favorable conditions. " The President," 
said one of the physicians, " is approaching the critical period. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 91 

We look for him to get worse before he can get better. The 
result will depend upon the violence of the inflammation." Dr. 
Bliss gives out that he still has hopes of recovery, but it is 
understood that all that occurs in the treatment of the wounded 
man is not made public. It is known that the President at 
times experiences what he has termed " tiger's claws" in his feet 
and legs, and that to allay these acute pains hypodermic injec- 
tions are resorted to. 

After 7 o'clock to-night the order for admission to the White 
House was changed, and no one was permitted to ascend to the 
second story except members of the Cabinet and their families 
and foreign Ministers. Representatives of the press and others 
who held cards of admission to the house were stopped in the 
vestibule, where the bulletins from the President's chamber were 
brought and read. This new order was made necessary in order 
that the sufferer might not be disturbed by the slightest noise. 
An order was also issued to-day by the physicians that no one 
be permitted to enter the President's room except members of 
his family and those necessary for proper attendance, and the 
President was forbidden to hold any long conversation with any 
one. 

ONLY SLIGHT GROUND FOR HOPE. 

The Latest Symptoms Regarded as Very Unfavorable — I^o 
Bulletin till Morning. 

Washington, July 4, 2 a.m. — At 12.40 o'clock Surgeon- 
General Barnes left the White House. In reply to a question 
as to the President's condition, he said there had been no change 
for some hours, and that he had had some fever during the 
evening. At 12.45 Secretary and Mrs. Windom, Secretary and 
Mrs. Hunt, Attorney-General and Mrs. MacVeagh, and Secretary 
Blaine and Mr. Walker Blaine left the White House. Mrs. 
James and Mrs. Blaine remained with Mrs. Garfield. A Tribune 
correspondent met Secretaries Lincoln and Kirkwood and Post- 
master-General James at 1.30 a.m. as they were leaving the 
White House to snatch a few hours sleep. Mr. Lincoln said, 
" I have just talked with Dr. Woodward. He says the Presi- 
dent's condition is critical, but there are still slight grounds for 
hope. The distention of the bowels is only slight, but it is, of 
course, a very unfavorable symptom. Our going home has no 



03 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

significance. The house is crowded, and if we remained we 
must have sat up. It is not expected by the physicians that any 
material change will take place before 7 o'clock. Certainly 
there is no probability of a fatal result during the next six 
hours." 

The following postscript was attached to the bulletin issued at 
12.30 A.M. : " In view of the fact that it is deemed best to keep 
the President perfectly quiet during the night no further exam- 
inations will be made and no other bulletins issued till 7.30 this 
morning." 

1 A.M. — The President at this hour is sleeping quietly, and 
the hopes of the physicians in attendance are still good. All 
the members of the Cabinet left the Executive Mansion before 
midnight, and at that hour the doors of the White House were 
closed, and nobody has been allowed to enter since. Dr. Gun- 
nell, a surgeon of the Navy, is watching the President. Drs. 
Bliss and Reyburn are sleeping in the surgeon's room, which 
adjoins the chamber of the President. Drs. Barnes and Wood- 
ward have gone home to get needed rest. If any unfavorable 
symptoms appear, Drs. Bliss and Reyburn will be called. Mrs. 
Blaine sits by the bedside of the President, and will remain 
there all night. Mrs. Garfield is sleeping in the room at the 
north-western corner of the Executive Mansion, and nobody is 
allowed on the portico for fear of disturbing her rest. The 
President has been out of his mind only once since the shoot- 
ing. This afternoon, when nobody but his nurses and the doc- 
tors were in the room, he suddenly exclaimed : " Why don't 
you take all those people out of the way ?" He recovered him- 
self almost instantly, however, and since then he has been 
himself. Dr. Bliss says that there is not the least danger of 
his dying to-night, and upon this assurance the crowd which 
had lingered around the White House all day dispersed. The 
condition of General Garfield is, however, very critical, and in 
all probability the next 24 hours will decide his fate. 

July 4, 10 A.M. — Dr. D. Hayes Agnew, of Philadelphia, 
arrived here at 4 o'clock, and Dr. Frank H. Hamilton, of New 
York, at 6 o'clock this morning, in answer to the telegrams of 
yesterday summoning them to a consultation. At 7 o'clock 
they held a consultation, after examining the wounds of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 93 

President, with Drs. D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, Robert Rey- 
burn, and Surgeon-General Barnes, who are now attending Gen- 
eral Garfield. The consultation lasted for an hour and a quarter, 
and at 9.40 its result was conveyed to the anxious public in a 
bulletin stating that the management and course of treatment 
of the attending physicians were approved in every particular 
by the consulting physicians. Drs. Agnew and Hamilton, 
while they admit that the wound is of a dangerous nature, con- 
tinue to give encouraging hopes of the ultimate recovery of the 
President. At this hour, 10 a.m., the patient is resting easily 
and everybody in the White House is hopeful. The city is 
perfectly quiet and the day appears more like Sunday than the 
Fourth of July. Flags are hoisted over the Executive Mansion 
and public buildings, but beyond this the national significance 
of the day is ignored in the great anxiety for the life of the 
President. 

11 A.M. — The surgeons have succeeded in alleviating the pain 
in the President's feet and ankles, and he now rests somewhat 
easier. The tympanitis which began to develop last night has 
been kept under control up to this time, and the physicians feel 
very confident that they can prevent its increase. Dr. Agnew 
has left for Philadelphia, and Dr. Hamilton will return to New 
York this afternoon. Mrs. Garfield is the only person, except 
the physicians and nurses, who is allowed to see the President. 
A great crowd is in front of the gates to the White House, and 
the streets are full of people, but everything is quiet. The 
day is very warm. 

12.30 P.M. — There has been but little change in the Presi- 
dent's condition since the last bulletin. He complains much 
less of the pain in his feet. Slight vomiting occasionally. 
Pulse, 110 ; temperature, 100°; respiration, 24. 

D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 

J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

2 P.M. — Dr. Hayes Agnew, the eminent Philadelphia surgeon, 
who, with Dr. Hamilton, of New York, was summoned to 
Washington last night to consult with the President's attending 
physicians, said this morning before returning to Philadelphia 
that there were many marvellously favorable symptoms about 



94 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the President's case. He was quite certain that the abdomen 
has not been injured, and that the kidneys are not disturbed. 
He beUeves that the Uver has been lacerated by the ball, but to 
what extent this organ has been injured cannot, of course, be 
determined until an examination of the course taken by the 
ball has been made. The tearing pains in the limbs are caused, 
Dr. Agnew said, by the laceration of the liver and the severing 
of certain nerves thrown out from the spinal column. Dr. 
Hamilton also takes a hopeful view of the President's symp- 
toms. At noon Dr. Bliss said that the inflammation, when the 
last examination was made, was natural to the wound, and was 
really less, all things considered, than was expected. There is, 
he said, a liability to abscess and pus, but he has no apprehen- 
sion from such formations, and says they can be readily 
treated. Dr. Bliss is quite hopeful for the President's recov- 
ery, but said no positive opinion could yet be formed as to 
what the result might be. Much would depend, he thought, 
upon the development of the current 24 hours. 

2.25 P.M. — The President awaked from sleep a few moments 
ago and said to Dr. Bliss, who stood by his bed-side : " Doctor, 
I feel better than I have at any time since I was wounded." 

2.45 P.M. — The attending physicians continue to express a 
hopeful opinion of the President's case. Peritonitis has not 
supervened as yet, and there are no more indications of it than 
there were this morning. The condition of the patient, there- 
fore, although critical, is no worse than was to be expected. 

4.30 P.M. — Dr. Woodward, in conversation with Secretary 
Hunt about fifteen minutes ago, said that there was no percepti- 
ble change in the President, and that the symptoms continued 
very favorable. 

5.15 P.M. — The President partook of a quantity of chicken- 
broth a short time ago, and has retained it. He is resting about 
the same as when his condition was last reported. 

6.30 P.M. — Colonel Rockwell has just sent a despatch saying: 
" The President is now resting. His symptoms at this hour are 
not considered so favorable as at the date of the last bulletin." 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 95 



7.35 P.M. — ^The President this evening is not so comfortable. 
He does not suffer so much from pain in the feet. The tym- 
panitis is again more noticeable. Pulse, 126; temperature, 
101.9° ; respiration, 24. Another bulletin will be issued at 10 
P.M., after which, in order not to disturb the President unneces- 
sarily, no further bulletins will be issued until to-morrow morn- 
ing. 

D. W. Bliss, J. J. "Woodward, 

J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

10 P.M. — There has been slight amelioration of symptoms 
during the past two hours. No vomiting during that period. 
Pulse, 124; temperature, 101°; respiration, 24. In order not 
to disturb the President unnecessarily no further bulletins will 
be issued until to-morrow morning. 

D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 

J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

11.30 P.M. — General Hazen, who has just come from the White 
House, reports that everything was very encouraging there ; 
that the indications all were that the President would pass a 
(^uiet night, and that there was very much more cheerfulness in 
the Executive Mansion. General Hazen firmly believes the Pres- 
ident will pull through. 

Midnight. — The condition of the President has further im- 
proved since the date of the last ofiicial bulletin. His tempera- 
ture and pulse have again fallen slightly, and he is at this hour 
sleeping quietly. 



THE GLOOM AT THE CAPITAL. 

A very quiet Fourth — Deep Anxiety manifested en every Hand — 
Admiration for the President'' s heroic Conduct — A suppressed 
Feeling of Anger against Guiteau. 

Washington, July 4. — The Chief of Police of this city issued 
an order on Sunday evening, as the Times has already been 
informed, to prevent the setting off of fire-crackers and other 
explosives. It is only just, as it is creditable, to the people here 
to say that the order was altogether unnecessary, because ot a 



/ 



96 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

peculiar sentiment everywhere observable. The city to-day has 
''^ I been unnaturally quiet. The pall of silence followed the start- 
/ ling act of the would-be assassin, and men have unconsciously 
/ fallen into the habit of suppressing sounds which would other- 
/ wise have been given free vent. No steam or other whistles 
/ have been heard in the city. Bells have ceased to toll ; men 
I walk about as though shod in soft slippers, and talk with bated 
I breath. A correspondent of the Times has walked and ridden 
I about this city for miles to-day and has not heard the sound of 
a fire-cracker or a torpedo. To fire a pistol would be almost as 
much as a man's life was worth. For very silence this day will 
be a memorable one in the history of the capital of the nation 
among the anniversaries of Independence Day. This homage 
of silence has been bom of a sentiment, and there is no hypoc- 
risy in its observance. An incident or two may perhaps serve 
to illustrate this. The Times correspondent was at Police 
Headquarters to-day, making inquiries as to Guiteau's condition. 
A policeman strode along and eagerly inquired about the latest 
bulletin. It happened to be unfavorable in some particulars. 
He heaved a deep sigh and a shadow fell over his rough and 
weather-beaten countenance. He fairly trembled, as men do 
who hang about the sick-room of a loved one .and quiver as they 
ask the doctor, fresh from the bed-side, of the chances of recov- 
ery. Something about the correspondent's manner may perhaps 
have prompted an explanation of the evidences of emotion dis- 
played by the oflScer, who said, in tones as though it had been 
wrung from him, " Why, I pray daily for the President's recov- 
ery. His name is in my devotions ;" and tears stood in the 
eyes of the manly fellow as he said so. 

A colored man stood waiting at the main entrance, just out- 
side the grounds attached to the Executive Mansion. I could 
not help noticing him this morning as I passed in through the 
iron gates and by the sentries who guarded the opening. He 
was emphatically what they call here " a poor nigger." He 
was hatless, shoeless, shirtless. The few worn garments which 
invested his spare frame wanted only an apology for going to 
nieces. His frizzed hair and thin gray beard were dishevellod, 
but they seemed to gain a glory from the tints of the bright 
warm sunshine, whose heat was almost overpowering. Like an 
ancient servitor stood the old man close to the sentries and 
peered through the iron gates, whose portals he could not pass. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 97 

When any one came out of the grounds he would approach and 
eagerly listen for tidings. He kept his vigil well. When I 
told him that the doctors had great hopes of saving the Presi- 
dent, he said, simply but with fervor, " Thank God for that." 
And so it is everywhere about the city. Men are tearful, pray- 
erful, and quiet. High and low share in the feelings of sympa- 
thy and devotion. The Cabinet officers and their wives, men 
of mark who have won renown in battle, debate, or in the marts 
of trade, all have the sense of personal bereavement. It stirs 
one to see old army veterans, some of them battle-scarred, to 
whom wounds were mere child's play in war-time, actually cry 
outright at the present sad calamity. 

HEROISM OF THE PRESIDENT AND HIS WIFE. 

Devotional feelings have been called out to a surprising extent 
by the event. Attention has been already called to this. The 
prayer-meetings in the churches, including the Jewish syna- 
gogues, are evidences of it. But besides such public tokens, 
there are prayers at many family altars, and the President's is 
joined among the names of loved ones in the invocation at the 
hearth. There is also a manifestation of feeling of a different 
kind, which is noteworthy. Men speak constantly of the Presi- 
dent's manliness, his gentleness, and courtesy. They are recall- 
ing and repeating incidents showing his kindness of heart and 
singleness of purpose. His chivalrous devotion to his wife and 
mother are remembered. The heroism he has shown under the 
present circumstances is descanted on, and coupled with it is the 
fact of the utter abnegation of self he has displayed. When first 
wounded his thought was of his loved wife and little ones, and 
how to spare them pain. His mother's anxiety was also upper- 
most in his mind, and by his direction care has been taken to 
send the old lady messages of cheer and hope. When those 
good, kind-hearted women, like Mrs. James, Mrs. Hunt, and 
others, sat up during the long watches of Saturday night, when 
all was gloom and not one bright ray of hope appeared, and 
when he was told he had only a single chance of life, he repeated 
that he was not afraid to die. During this time there was on 
his part the most tender consideration for others. He moved 
his arm while in a paroxysm of pain, and just touched a little 
rudely one of his kind-hearted watchers. Instantly he lost all 
5 



98 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

feeling for himself, and his lips parted with a heartfelt apology 
for having been guilty of brusqueness towards the lady, who had 
not even given the circumstance a thought, and would not have 
done so had it not been for the innate manliness of the one who 
lay on his bed of pain. His demeanor towards his noble-hearted 
wife has been chivalrous in its best sense. He has ever sought 
her ease and welfare, and to keep her from anxiety and sus- 
pense. When she first entered his room he met her with a 
smiling face, and he has had a smile and a word of cheer for her 
ever since, even though his sufferings have been at times very 
great. With true wifely devotion, too, has Mrs. Garfield borne 
herself, and her cheerful, hopeful demeanor has done much to 
free from care her husband's mind. He feared for her. She 
had just risen from a bed of sickness, and he was afraid that 
she would have a relapse. She, poor woman, knowing his fear, 
steeled herself by a mighty effort. To no one has she made a 
complaint; to no one has her husband said a word of aught 
except kindness. They have been a model husband and wife 
under circumstances most trying to their natures. Each has 
brought solace to the other, and the wife has ministered at the 
bedside of her liege, with an intelligence none the less powerful 
and eflicient than the love she has shown. All these things 
leak out. It would be surprising, indeed, if they did not. The 
few persons who have been admitted to the chamber of pain — 
the doctors, the watchers, and the nearest of kin — bear uncon- 
scious testimony to the conduct of the first gentleman and first 
lady of the land. Words are let drop, kind expressions are 
repeated, and bit by bit comes out the heart history of the 
loving pair. Such stories spread. All are only too willing to 
help embalm in the memory of friends the ministry of love and 
gentleness, of kindness, and of devotion which the national 
Executive Mansion discloses. People have taken the stories to 
heart, and they are fashioning inwardly portraits of the Presi- 
dent which would do no injustice to the kindest and best of men 
the earth ever saw. There is a hero worship here that is carried 
out to a surprising extent; but the people know and feel there is 
a good basip for much of what they believe, and the glamour of 
devotion adds bright and attractive colors to the picture and 
gives it a setting of love. 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 99 



THE DASTARDLY ASSASSIN. 



It is because of these things that men here speak as they do 
and act as has been shown. Their thoughts are all engrossed 
with the occupant of the White House, and they can scarcely 
spare a thought for the wretched miscreant who lies confined in 
the District jail and jabbers unto his jailors the delight he feels. 
Interviews have been published with Guiteau, but they are all 
untrue. He has been permitted to see no one, and he is strongly 
guarded lest an organized attempt should be made to rescue the 
prisoner and bring him before Judge Lynch. At present the 
precaution seems useless. Of course it would not be safe for 
the fellow to travel the streets of this city. He has too many 
personal enemies, men whom he has defrauded by petty swin- 
dles, and who would like nothing better than the chance of 
getting even with him. If a stray bullet should by chance hap- 
pen to hit and kill the fellow there would be little sympathy, 
and few would care whether the murdered man had been in a 
condition in which he was not responsible for his acts. Fine- 
drawn distinctions about mental responsibility might come in 
the subsequent proceeding and be raised, but they would inure 
to the benefit of the assailant. But the first thoughts of lynch- 
ing Guiteau are apparently stilled. It would not do to say that 
they are eradicated. There is now a condition of suspense. 
People have now neither the time nor the inclination to do 
more than watch the pulse of the President and listen to the 
utterances of his physicians. Will he recover, is their upper- 
most thought, and next in their minds is a recollection of his 
kindly qualities. When Mark Antony made his oration over 
(Cesar's corpse, he first told the Roman mob of the gentleness, 
kindness, and patriotism of the murdered man. The mob did 
the work of revenge afterwards. Some such thing might hap- 
})en here. With suspense ended by the President's death, the 
people, whose minds have been filled with admiration for his 
services and his splendid bearing, might take it into their heads 
to lynch the murderer. No eagerness, except by newspaper 
men, is shown to see the prisoner. It is, perhaps, as well for 
him that the people have not shown an overmastering curiosity 
to see him. The thread of their conversation might be of hemp. 



100 THE ASSASSINATION OV 



HISTOET OF THE ASSASSIN". 



Charles Julius Guitkau was born in Freeport, 111., September 
8, 1841. His height is about five feet five inches. He has a 
sandy complexion and is slight, weighing not more than 125 
pounds. He wears a moustache and slight chin whiskers, 
slightly tinged with gray. His sunken cheeks and widely sep- 
arated eyes give him a sullen, morose appearance. His father 
was L. W. Guiteau, who for many years before his death, which 
took place one year ago, was cashier of the Second National 
Bank of Freeport. Charles received an ordinary education in 
the schools of his native town. He was then sent to Ann Ar- 
bor, Mich., where his father lived in 1835, and where the son 
was to prepare to enter the University of Michigan, The ec- 
centric young student ruthlessly discarded his father's plans for 
making him a useful man, and abandoned his studies. He con- 
ceived the idea of joining the Oneida Community and did so. He 
remained with these peculiar people for four or five years, when 
he became dissatisfied at the lack, rather than at the excess of, 
licence in social affairs under the rules of the Community. He 
was unable to go to the extremes his depraved nature desired 
to, and he accordingly severed his connection with the society. 
He became its bitter opponent, and threatened to write a book 
exposing the affairs of the community. He was checkmated in 
this by the head of the Oneida Society, who in turn exposed 
Guiteau's connection with the society in the society paper. 
This took place about 1869. Guiteau then went to Chicago and 
began studying law in his brother's office. 

Soon after his arrival he became intimate with a young lady 
employed as librarian in the Young Men's Christian Association 
Rooms, and married her. It was not a happy union, and two 
or three years after he deserted her. From the religious people 
of Chicago he received much sympathy on account of his antag- 
onism to the Oneida Community ; but it was evident to those 




CHARLES J. GTTITEAU. 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. lOI 

who knew him intimately that he was at best not rightly bal- 
anced, if not thoroughly vicious. He was admitted to the bar 
in Chicago, opened an office, and obtained a small practice in 
collecting bills, etc. He soon developed bad habits in failing 
to account for funds collected, and came to grief and disgrace 
to such an extent that he left Chicago. He next opened an 
office in New York, pursued the same methods, and finally landed 
in Ludlow Street Jail for improper appropriation of money, lie 
was released through the efforts of his brother-in-law, George 
Scoville. He sued the New York Herald and Times repeat- 
edly for libel. The New York and Chicago papers repeatedly 
posted him as a fraud, and he retorted by instituting libel suits 
for large amounts. None of these cases ever came to trial. 
This action is fully characteristic of the man, it being also a 
mania with him to gain notoriety in every conceivable way. He 
returned to Chicago about 1875 and attempted to resume the 
practice of law. He failed to get any business, because, as he 
said, of Heaven's desire to make known through him the truth 
about the second coming of Christ. He claimed that Christ's 
second coming was revealed to him as having actually transpired 
A.D. 70 at the destruction of Jerusalem. 

The following is an extract from a letter dated March 30, 
1873, from the father of the assassin to- John W. Guiteau, the 
brother in question, in which he writes referring to " his abom- 
inable and deceitful dealings" : 

" I have been ready to believe him capable of almost any folly, 
stupidity, or rascality. The only possible excuse I can render 
for him is that he is insane. Indeed, if I was called as a witness 
upon the stand, I am inclined to think I should testify that he 
is absolutely insane and is hardly responsible for his acts. My 
own impression is that unless something shall stop him in his 
folly and mad career he will become hopelessly insane and a fit 
subject for the lunatic asylum. Before I finally gave him up I 
had exhausted all my powers of reason and persuasion, as well 
as other resources, in endeavoring to control his actions and 
thoughts, but without avail. I found he was deceitful and could 
not be depended upon in anything ; stubborn, wilful, conceited, 
and at all times outrageously wicked, apparently possessed with 
the devil. I saw him once or twice when it seemed to me he 
was willing to do almost any wicked thing. You will remember 
perhaps at the last conversation we had about him, I told you 



109 TEE ASSASSINATION Off 

to keep clear of him and not have anything to do with him. 
Should anybody ask about him now, I should be compelled to 
say to them, I thought he was insane, or at least a monomaniac, 
and should there leave it and say no more about him. His in- 
sanity is of such a character that he is as likely to become a sly, 
cunning desperado as anything. Could I see him I might pos- 
sibly make another and more vigorous effort to change the whole 
channel of his thoughts and feelings ; if I could not do that I 
should have no hope whatever of being able to do him any 
good. I made up my mind long ago never to give him another 
dollar in money until I should be convinced he was thoroughly 
humbled and radically changed. I am sometimes afraid he would 
steal, rob, or do anything before his egotism and self-conceit 
shall be knocked out of him, and perhaps, even all that will not 
do it. So, you see, I regard his case as hopeless, or nearly so, 
and, of course, know no other way but to dismiss him entirely 
from my mind. I leave him entirely in the hands of his Maker, 
with a very faint hope that he can be changed either in this 
world or the next." 

It was evident that although he thought he had some new 
truths to reveal, he was more or less crazy. He delivered a dic- 
tatorial aggressive lecture, full of assertion, but bare of argument, 
and entirely lacking in oratorical merit. His effort was, of 
course, a complete failure. He left town without paying the 
bills for printing and hall rent, and made a tour of some of the 
New England towns. Local papers posted him as a crazy fraud 
and dead "beat." In 1879 he republished an edition of a 
thousand volumes of his " Life of Christ," under D. Lockwood 
& Co.'s imprint, which he obtained the right to do surrepti- 
tiously. It was printed by Wright & Potter, who were never 
paid for their work. Failing to obtain any sales of his book, he 
advertised himself as an attorney-at-law, with an office in the 
Congregational House, and attempted to get collections. He 
had no license to practise in Massachusetts, and soon after left 
for parts unknown. Before his departure he had one or two 
stormy interviews with his brother, John W. Guiteau. A num- 
ber of persons, boarding-house keepers and others, whom Charles 
had swindled, had inquired of John W. Guiteau about the fel- 
low, and he had told them that his brother was irresponsible. 
Charles Y/as highly indignant at this action of his brother, and 
upbraided him for it, even to the extent of showing personal 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 103 

violence, so that on one or two occasions Mr. Guiteau was com- 
pelled to forcibly eject him from his office. John W, Guiteau 
describes his brother as possessed of very peculiar moral quali- 
ties. He does not believe he would intentionally lie, but he will 
contract debts without limit which he knows he will be unable 
to pay. For instance, he once borrowed $200 from Mr. Scoville, 
giving his promissory note for the amount, and when urged to 
pay the obligation exclaimed : " Why he knows I paid him ; he 
can go to any bank and get the money on my note." 

After leaving Boston in 1879 he was next heard of as being- 
am ong the victims of the Narragansett disaster. He turned up, 
however, with a graphic description of his experiences on board 
that unfortunate vessel, given in one of the New York papers. 
He has since roamed about the country from Maine to California, 
living by his wits. His father was compelled years before he 
died, on account of his irregularities and dishonesty, to discard 
him. 

Describing his brother's personal and mental characteristics, 
Mr. Guiteau said that Charles was the personification of egotism 
and obstinacy. He was lazy beyond degree. When remonstra- 
ted with by his brother for some dishonest proceeding, he ex- 
claimed petulantly : " You talk to me just like father ; you as- 
sume that I am all wrong." He is a great reader of daily litera- 
ture, and Mr. Guiteau thinks it quite probable that after the 
assassination of the Czar he put himself in communication with 
European Nihilists, and has tried to organize a society in this 
country. He was a man of incomparable " cheek" and claimed 
to be the personal friend of many prominent officials. He has 
always been a Republican in politics, but has not been a mono- 
maniac on the subject as on religion, until probably the begin- 
ning of the New York quarrel. Personally he is a perfect cow- 
ard, and has often refused to go into a dark part of the house at / 
night, without first arming himself with a revolver. 

STORY OF ONE "WHO HAS KNOWN HIM FROM THE CRADLE TO 
THE CRIME. 

Colonel Burnside, the disbursing officer at the Post-Office De- 
partment, Washington, says he knew Guiteau when he was a 
baby in his mother's arms. Ilis father, J. W. Guiteau, was an 
old resident and respected citizen of Freeport, 111., where he held 



104 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

many offices of trust. Some years ago lie became deranged on 
the subject of " Perfection," and lectured extensively through 
the North and West on that subject. He married a very beau- 
tiful woman, with whom and the younger children he joined 
the Oneida Coinmunity. He afterwards returned to Freeport, 
where from 1864 up to last September, the time of his death, 
he served as cashier of the Second National Bank. There were 
three children. An older brother, Wilkes Guiteau, for a long 
time practised law at Davenport, Iowa, but is now practising his 
profession in Boston, Mass., where also he is at the head of large 
insurance interests. A younger sister, Flora, was a very promis- 
ing girl, having a decided talent for music. Charles Julius 
Guiteau, who to-day is in jail for the murder of the President, 
was an odd boy. He appears to have been the only^one of the 
children tainted with his father's eccentricities, y^^^^i the 
family left the Oneida Community, Charles, then fifteen or six- 
teen years old, was left behind. He afterwards went to Chicago, 
where he studied law, being cared for and supplied with money 
by his father. After completing his studies Guiteau went to 
Europe, where he travelled several years, imbibing socialistic 
and other eccentric doctrines. A few years ago he returned to 
this country and lectured on the second advent of Christ. He 
published a pamphlet on the subject, in which the egotism of the 
man was plainly shown. , He spoke of himself as a messenger of 
God to announce his coming. His lecture here in Lincoln Hall 
on this subject was a failure. Julius — we used to call him Julius, 
but I see he has dropped that part of his name — is now about 
forty or forty-two years old. From what I knew of the boy, 
his education in the Oneida Community, and his utterances on 
religion, I was not at all surprised at his committing the act this 
morning. I understand from people employed at the White 
House that Guiteau had forced himself upon the President be- 
fore. He was an applicant for the consulship at Marseilles, and a 
few days ago obtained access to the President, and acted so rudely 
that the President had him removed. I have no doubt that, feel- 
ing offended by this act, he determined on the course which cul- 
minated in the terrible tragedy of this morning. Guiteau was 
hanging around the Republican headquarters, No. 241 Fifth 
Avenue, New York, during the campaign last fall. He made a 
few speeches, but his efforts did not seem to be appreciated by 
the committee. - He was poor and seedy looking, and borrowed 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 105 

some money from Mr. Jewell after the election, and a few days 
before the committee broke up he asked Governor Jewell for a 
recommendation for a consulate. He specially urged that if he 
could secure a consulate a certain rich lady would marry him. It 
is not known whether the Governor recommended him or not, 
but one thing is certain — he was looked upon as a person who 
was not exactly right in the upper story. 

PREPARING FOR THE DEED. 

John J. Rae, one of the clerks at the Riggs House, made the 
following statement : " This man Guiteau came here Thurs- 
day night, registered, and was assigned to room No. 222, which, 
by a strange coincidence, was the very number of the Pull- 
man palace car that was to take the Presidental party to- 
day from Washington. Ever since the Inauguration he has 
had his letters addressed here and called regularly for them. I 
noticed that most of his letters were postmarked Chicago. It 
was his custom to present his card and inquire for his mail. He 
seemed very polite, but there was something about him that ap- 
peared strange. He often seated himself in the waiting-room, 
but rarely engaged in conversation with any one. He was out 
much of the time, and I have not seen him since he registered. 
I understand, however, that he came here this morning, got a 
satchel which he had checked, took something out of it, and re- 
turned the same. It must have been about a half an hour be- 
fore he committed the deed, and he must have gone directly from 
the house to the depot." 

A boarder at Mrs. Grant's said that Guiteau had been a 
boarder there for the past six weeks ; he was prompt at meals, 
but when he came in too early he walked up and down the halls 
and parlors in a cat-like manner. The boarders never took to 
him on account of his odd actions, and we all thought there was 
something wrong about him. He left the house day before yes- 
terday, owing six weeks' board. ^ A Mr. Barstow overheard a 
conversation in the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad ticket-of- 
fice, last evening, which clearly showed the action contemplated 
by Guiteau. He says that Guiteau came into the office, and in- 
quired in relation to the train that the President proposed taking 
to-day. He was told that it left at half-past nine a.m. There- 
upon he started out hurriedly, remarking as he neared the door, 
6* 



106 THE ASSASSINATION Oil' 

" I'll give him a Russian bomb." Mr. Barstow said he was sur- 
prised at this remark, and said to a gentleman, who stood near 
him, that such an assertion from an insane man was intolerable, 
let alone from one who appeared to be sound in mind ; that he 
thought such an assertion would justify his going to the Attor- 
ney-General and laying the matter before him. 

HIS FIRST MONTHS AT THE CAPITAL. 

In March Guiteau went to the well-known boarding-house of 
Mrs. Lock wood (formerly Mrs. Rines), No. 810 Twelfth Street, 
and tried to secure board. Mrs. Lockwood did not like his ap- 
pearance, and gave him an out-of-the-way room in the house in 
the hope of getting rid of him. He pretended to know General^ 
Logan and others then boarding there. 

PERSONAL PECULIARITIES. 

He did not appear to get along very well with the boarders, 
who avoided him as much as possible. " He appeared to have 
a cat-like tread," said one of the boarders, " and walked so 
easily that he was always up alongside persons before they knew 
it." He was said to be rude at the table, too, so much so that 
a gentleman and his wife stopping there would not sit alongside 
of him. Mrs. Lockwood states that he acted strangely at times, 
and about the middle of the month when she presented his bill 
he could not pay it. He afterwards left the house and sent Mrs. 
Lockwood a note, stating that he was expecting a $6,000 posi- 
tion and would soon pay his bill. Mrs. Lockwood showed this 
note to General Logan, who said the man was crazy. Three 
weeks ago he met' Mrs. Ricksford, of Mrs. Lockwood's boarding- 
house, on the street, and requested her not to say anything 
about the bill he owed, as it would injure him in his efforts to 
secure a position. He expressed great pleasure at the fact that 
Mrs. Lockwood had treated him very kindly while he was at 
her house. Mrs. Lockwood said that Guiteau was a great bother 
to General Logan, so persistent was he in his attempts to secure 
that gentleman's efforts in his behalf. Since leaving Mrs. Lock- 
wood's house he has been stopping at various places, but never 
for a great length of time, for the reason that he appeared to 
have no funds. He told one of the boarders at Mrs. Lockwood's 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 107 

that lie expected to be appointed Minister to France, but he did 
not desire it to be known. Up to the day before yesterday, when 
he registered at the Riggs House, Guiteau had been stopping 
for the last six weeks, with no baggage but a paper box, at No. 
920 Fourteenth Street. 



AT THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. 

The librarian of the Navy Department appeared this after- 
noon before the Attorney-General. He says that Guiteau was 
one of Farwell's supporters in the effort to break the unit rule 
in the Chicago Convention, and says that Guiteau was in the 
habit of calling at the librarian's room and telling how he had 
been treated by Secretary Blaine. 

GUITEAU IN GOTHAM. 

According to the statement of some gentlemen who had per- 
sonal dealings with Guiteau, he came to this city in 1871, shortly 
after the Chicago fire, and hiring an office carried on the prac- 
tice of the law. According to statements made by him after- 
wards, he arrived in New York a perfect stranger and with only 
$10 in money. The first year, however, he made $1,500 from 
his professional work and the second year $2,500. He had 
cards issued on which was printed " Charles J. Guiteau, attor- 
ney and counsellor-at-law of the Supreme Court." Notwithstand- 
ing the above-mentioned sums of money which he claimed to 
have earned in the practice of the law he became known in many 
boarding-houses of this city as a swindler. In the fall of 1873 
he was arraigned before Justice Sherman Smith in Jefferson 
Market Police Court on a charge of false pretence. The com- 
plainant was the proprietor of the St. Nicholas Hotel. Guiteau 
had been stopping at the hotel for some time, and avoided pay- 
ment of his bill by tendering many plausible excuses. "When 
the amount he owed had become quite large he disappeared sud- 
denly. Detective Kealy, of the hotel, got upon his track and 
finally ran him down. The proprietor of the St. Nicholas was 
only one of a number of people w^ho turned up in court against 
Guiteau as soon as the news of his arrest became known. Mrs. 
Simonson, who kept a large boarding-house at No. 31 East Twenty- 
second Street, testified before Justice Smith that Guiteau had been 



108 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

a guest in her house, and that in settlement of his board bill he 
had given her a check for $21 on the Leather Manufacturers' 
Bank. She believed the check to be genuine, but when it was 
presented for payment at the bank the cashier said that Guiteau 
not only did not have an account there but had never had one. 
The check was obtained by Mrs. Simonson ' only after she had 
become possessed of Guiteau's baggage, and held it as security 
for his indebtedness. He asked her to give him the baggage, 
which she refused to do unless he settled with her. He then 
presented her with the check, received his property, and disap- 
peared. Other complainants a2:ainst him were Stephen Thome, 
of No. 19 West Twenty-fourth ^Street; John P. Worstell, of No. 
208 Fifth Avenue ; Mrs. Bishop, of No. 31 Madison Avenue, and 
Mrs. Stahl, of No. 26 East Twenty-third Street, who testified that 
they had been similarly victimized. Guiteau had boarded at 
different times with each of these parties, run up bills, and in 
some instances absconded at night with his baggage. When he 
was prevented from carrying out this plan he resorted to the 
passing of worthless checks, as in the case of Mrs. Simonson. 
Guiteau denounced the charges made against him as malicious 
and false. In explanation of the check he had given on the 
Leather Manufacturers' Bank, he said that he had kept an ac- 
count with the institution for several months, and had placed in 
it as much as $1,000. He claimed that not one of the com- 
plainants had a lien on his baggage, as they were not boarding- 
house-keepers under the law, and he had a right to remove it. 
He -acknowledged that he owed each of the persons named small 
balance for board: To Mr. Thome, $20; to Mr. Worstell, $15; 
to Mrs. Bishop, $12; to Mrs. Stahl, $6, and $16 to Mrs. Simon- 
son. Mrs. Simonson, he went on to say, kept a boarding-house 
near the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and he boarded with her two 
months. He paid her promptly every two weeks, but ran $21 
in her debt toward the latter part of his stay there. He gave 
her the check for this amount. At that time he had an ac- 
count with the Leather Manufacturers' Bank, but she withheld 
presentation of the check until it was three weeks overdue, when 
she returned it to him, saying it was worthless. He gave her $5, 
and promised to pay the remainder in a short time afterwards. 
Justice Smith, having heard the testimony on both sides, com- 
mitted Guiteau to the Tombs Prison in default of $1,000 bail. 
Guiteau described his feelings at this time in the following 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 109 

words : " I had no money and no relatives in the city, and I lan- 
guished in prison for over five long and dreary weeks, hourly 
and daily expecting and hoping and praying for my release, as 
I knew my detention was wholly illegal. Finally it came, thank 
God! I was free again. Free to breathe the sweet air of 
heaven ; free to go and come ; free to do my own will ; free to 
eat, drink, and sleep like decent people, and to associate with 
them. No one never imprisoned can realize the horrors of con- 
finement. It is a lingering death. ' A man who can't buy bread 
is no man at all,' people have thought when I asked them to aid 
me, and they were right." 

SUED FOR MISAPPROPRIATION. 

On the 21st of April, 1874, Guiteau was defendant in an 
application in the Supreme Court, Chambers, for an attachment 
to compel him to pay certain moneys collected by him for the 
Reis Brothers, wholesale grocers, of Cincinnati. The applica- 
tion was made to Judge Donohue by Reis Brothers' counsel, 
General Sandford, who stated that the firm had placed in 
Guiteau's hands a note for collection, and that Guiteau had 
collected $175. They wrote for the money. Guiteau's answer 
was, " All respectable lawyers retain a half for collections. I 
have collected my half, and therefore nothing is due to you !" 
Reis Brothers were owed $275 by a Chicago firm who failed in 
1870. Guiteau, then in Chicago, wrote to Reis Brothers ask- 
ing if they would accept fifteen cents on the dollar. Reis 
Brothers, supposing he was acting on behalf of the firm that 
liad failed, replied that they would accept not less than fifty 
cents on the dollar. The next they heard of this matter was 
that the bankrupt firm had settled with Guiteau for $175. 
Guiteau's claim was that the $175 was his for the trouble he had 
taken in settling the matter, that this- bankrupt firm had 
promised to settle the amount in full, and that when they did 
so Reis Brothers would receive their share, which he figured at 
$82. The application was denied by Judge Donohue. At 
that time Guiteau had his office at No. 170 Broadway. After- 
wards his office was at No. 51 Chambers Street and No. 57 
Liberty Street. He next turned up at No. 144 Dearborn Street, 
Chicago. 



110 THE AS8A88INAT10N OF 



HIS ADVENTURES IN NEW YORK. 

Albany, July 2, 1881. 

During the campaign last fall lie turned up at various places 
in this State. 

Thurlow Weed Barnes, of the Albany Evening Journal^ a 
grandson of Thurlow Weed, says that Guiteau called upon him 
last October, and asked for a chance to speak on the stump for 
the Republican national ticket. Guiteau said he had been 
employed by the Republican State Committee to do work at 
their rooms in New York and that he was on his way there. 
Mr. Barnes questioned him closely at the time, and, not liking 
his looks, told E. M. Johnson, secretary of the State Committee, 
that he believed Guiteau to be a fraud. Mr. Johnson made a 
memorandum, and said he would look into the case. Mr. 
Barnes was chairman of the County Committee. Guiteau said 
he came from Chicago. He was in Poughkeepsie in July last, 
and advertised a lecture on the political situation on the even- 
ing of July 2, one year ago tO-day. An admission fee was to 
be charged, and as people would not pay to go to a political 
meeting the lecture was not delivered. He afterwards wanted to 
be engaged as a speaker by the Republican Committee, but 
leading Republicans then thought his mind was unsound and 
they would have nothing to do with him. He afterwards was 
announced to speak at other places in the State. 

A SARATOGA REMINISCENCE. 

A special despatch to the Herald from Saratoga Springs 
says : Guiteau came to Saratoga Springs in July, 1880, and 
stopped at C. R. Brown's boarding-house. When his week 
was up he failed to pay and left for the Columbia Hotel, regis- 
tering there on Saturday evening, July 3. He had announced 
himself to deliver a political lecture, entitled " Hancock vs. 
Garfield," at the Town Hall, on the previous Thursday evening, 
charging an admission fee. Nobody attended, as there were 
too many political harangues to be heard without price at that 
time. His announcement was a curious piece of bombastic 
I nonsense, in which he styled himself "The celebrated orator 
' of the West." He made another attempt on Saturday evening. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. HI 

July 10, but even the doorkeeper failed to put in an appearance. 
He left Saratoga on the following morning, again leaving his 
bill unpaid, but stating in a note that he would remit from 
New York, which he never did. He was not particularly loud, 
and betrayed no evidences of insanity in his general conduct. 
On August 6, following, he delivered in New York city the 
speech to be found subjoined : 

GUITEAU'S LAST CAMPAIGN SPEECH. 

The appended speech was delivered by Guitean in New York, 
August 6 last, and issued in pamphlet form by the Republican 
National Committee : 

GARFIELD AGAINST HANCOCK. 

A SPEECH BY CHARLES GUITEAU, OF CHICAGO, ILL., DELIVERED IN 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 6, 1880. 

New York Address, Republican National Committee, 241 Fifth 

Avenue. 

THE PAST REVIEWED. 

In 1861 this nation was convulsed by one of the most 
gigantic wars on record. For generations America had been 
cursed by human slavery, and the conviction had been growing 
among all classes that no nation could always continue half free 
and half slave. In 1834 William Lloyd Garrison, backed by 
Wendell Phillips, the silver-tongued orator of Boston, assaulted 
x^merican slavery as in league with the lower regions. They 
denounced it in season and out of season, by voice and pen. 
Little by little they were backed by Horace Greeley, the great, 
good Horace ; Henry Ward Beecher ; Harriet Beecher Stowe, 
with her "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (a matchless work of fiction); 
Charles Sumner, who was stricken down in the United States 
Senate by Bully Brooks, of South Carolina, and scores of like- 
minded compatriots. In 1856 the Republican party was 
organized. It was an offshoot of the old Whig party, founded 
by Henry Clay, he of matchless eloquence, and by Daniel 
Webster, the favorite and gifted son of New England and the 
great defender of our national Constitution. In 1856 Fremont, 
the standard-bearer of the young Republicans, was defeated for 



112 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the Presidency by Buchanan, backed by the slave oligarchy. 
In 1861 the Republicans elected to the Presidency Abraham 
Lincoln — the immortal Lincoln. This was the signal for a 
grand onslaught by the slave oligarchy on the principles of 
liberty and progress. In 1861, after years of agitation for and 
against American slavery, the cannons were heard booming 
around Sumter, and our national existence was in peril. Jeff 
Davis and his cotraitors had seceded. They had stolen some 
of our forts and implements of war, and were trying to run a 
government on their own account. They had trampled under 
foot our national flag — that grand old ensign of our Republic. 
When the rebels assaulted Sumter it stirred the North to its 
depth. "To arms! To arms!" resounded all over this broad 
land. Thousands of brave boys went to battle — to victory or 
to death. They left their homes and loved ones — many never 
to return. Their mangled remains lie buried in many a grave. 
After years of war came peace. Our national flag again 
waved in triumph from every fort and battlement in the 
Republic, and slavery was no more. In 1861 there lived at 
Galena, in my own native State of Illinois, a quiet, modest man. 
He had graduated at West Point. He had seen service in Cali- 
fornia and Oregon. He had tasted poverty and distress in St. 
Louis and Galena. When President Lincoln called for 75,000 
troops to suppress the incipient rebellion. Captain Grant deter- 
mined to offer his services to the Government, and went to 
Springfield and interviewed Governor Yates. After some delay 
he was given a position, and finally was sent into the field as 
colonel. Little by little he arose till he became general of the 
national arms. From Galena through the war to the White 
House was but a step. From the White House around the 
globe, the recipient of the greatest ovations ever given to 
mortal man, was but another. Such prosperity would have 
crazed most men, but it did not Grant. The great, silent man's 
head is just as level to-day as when he sold cowhides in the 
streets of Galena. The military genius of Grant is not surpassed 
by that of Alexander, Julius Caesar, or the great Napoleon. 
Originally a Grant man, I am well satisfied with Garfield's 
nomination. " Nothing but an act of God," said the great 
senator from New York, *' can prevent Grant's nomination." 
General Garfield was born in poverty and obscurity, and has 
attained his present position under Providence by his own 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 113 

efforts. When the war came he was president of a small 
college in Ohio, and promptly offered his services to the govern 
ment in suppressing the rebellion. After nearly three years* 
service he was made a major-general. He was then elected to 
Congress and has held the position ever since. His long 
service on some of the most important committees shows that 
he is a square man and can be implicitly trusted. Some people 
say he got badly soiled in that Credit Mobilier transaction, but 
I guess he is clean-handed. Last winter he was elected to the 
United States Senate in place of Senator Thurman, and to-day 
he is the Republican nominee for the Presidency, with every 
prospect of success. He is a high-toned, conscientious. Chris- 
tian gentleman. Some persons are down on General Arthur 
because he was removed from the New York Collectorship by 
President Hayes. General Arthur was appointed Collector by 
General Grant, and held that important office for several years, 
and gave unbounded satisfaction to the merchants of New York 
by his able and careful administration of his office, and he is 
supposed to have been removed without cause. General Arthur 
is a lawyer of marked ability, great, culture, wide experience, 
and would be an ornament in the Vice-Pro?idcnt's chair. When 
I was a boy Washburne represented the Galena and Freeport 
district in Congress. I was born in Freeport, 111., and I have 
watched with marked pride the brilliant career of Grant and 
Washburne. Grant, Washburne, Garfield — these names go 
together. Grant, renowned in war and in peace ; Washburne, 
distinguished for his civil service at home and abroad ; Garfield, 
the scholar, soldier, and statesman. In October last, in old 
Faneuil Hall, in Boston, I heard Senator Chandler, who was the 
keenest Roman of us all, say that the rebel spirit then was the 
same that it was twenty years ago, just prior to the breaking 
out of the rebellion, and he was right. The Democrats now in 
majority in Congress would precipitate this action into another 
war had they power, and they would have the power save for 
President Hayes and his stalwart Cabinet. The Democratic 
majority now in Congress makes it imperative that the President 
and Cabinet be Republican, otherwise the national Government 
will be entirely controlled by ex-rebels and their Northern 
friends. The Democratic party are panting for the national 
Treasury. They have been starving since Buchanan retired, in 
1861, and they are dreadfully hungry. They will make a 



114 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

desperate effort to get in this time under the lead of that ^^ 
gallant soldier General Hancock. Hancock's nomination was a 
godsend to the Democratic party, and they will make the most 
of it. They are trying to run him as they did Horace Greeley 
in 1872. Poor Horace went down in that combination, and the 
chances are that Hancock will do likewise. This is the issue — 
a solid North against a solid South. The North conquered the 
South on the field of battle, and now they must do it at the 
polls in November, or they may have to fight another war. Ye 
men whose sons perished in the war what say you to the issue ? 
Shall we have another war ? Shall our national Treasury be 
controlled by ex-rebels and their Northern allies, to the end 
that millions of dollars of Southern war claims be liquidated ? 
If you want the Republic bankrupted, with the prospect of 
another war, make Hancock President. If you want prosperity 
and peace, make Garfield President, and the Republic will 
develop till it becomes the greatest and wealthiest nation on the 
globe. 

GUITEAU'S BOOK. 

In 1879 the Chicago firm of Donelly, Gassette & Loyd pub- 
lished a small volume of religious essays and lectures by the 
assassin of the President. The title, which is headed " A Book 
for Every One to Read," is ^' The Truth, a Companion to the 
Bible. By Charles J. Guiteau, lawyer, tlieologian, and lec- 
turer." The short preface is, "A new line of thought runs 
through this book, and the author asks for it careful attention 
to the end that many souls may find the Saviour." Under five 
different heads infidels are answered, St. Paul is eulogized, the 
second coming of Christ is asserted to have occurred at the 
destruction of Jerusalem, Christianity is reviewed, and Hades 
described. In the opening essay, "A Reply to Recent Attacks 
on the Bible," the author, by quotation from the Bible and 
learned divines, argues the existence of hell, defends the doctrine 
of the immortality of the soul, and the Holy Book which he 
insists is God's word. In speaking of the atonement he con- 
cludes : " ' But,' says a noted infidel, and this is his great point, 
' hell being such a terrible, awful place, and God being so very 
good. He won't send any one there.' We answer, God must 
sustain his government. Heaven is for the righteous. Hell is 
for the wicked. Heaven would be a hell, if the wicked could 



PHESIDENT GARFIELD. 115 

get into it. Hell is for the devil's seed; heaven is for Christ's 
seed." Further on he speaks of the infidel's end. " When the 
cold hand of death comes you will curse the day of your birth, you 
will flee to the mountains and say, Fall on me ! fall on me ! fori 
have crucified the Son of God. Henceforth there is nothing for 
me but eternal remorse. This remorse is the 'worm' that burns 
forever and ever." The reply to infidel statements is followed 
by a short essay on the life of " Paul, the Apostle." In opening 
this he says of Christ : " This wonderful creature had no where 
to lay his head. He had no money, He had no friends. He 
never travelled. He never wrote a book. He was hated, 
despised, and finally crucified as a vile impostor. Then back he 
went to the bosom of his Father." In opening his talk about 
Paul, he says : " When God wants anything done, he sends a 
man to do it." Further on we quote : " ' The powers that be,' 
said Paul, in the midst of pagan Rome, ' are ordained of God !' 
A strange statement for an ambassador of Christ to make, and 
explained on the ground that Christ's kingdom is not of this 
world." At the end of this essay the writer makes the curious 
statement, " Yes, yes ; thou Paul waited only two years for thy 
'■ crown.' Thou wert executed a.d. 68, and thy Master came at the 
destruction of Jerusalem a.d. 70, and gavest thee thy ' crown.' " 

CHRIST ALREADY COME. 

The third portion of the book is devoted to a lecture embody- 
ing the author's peculiar views as to this alleged second coming 
of Christ. It is headed " Christ's Second Coming. At the 
Destruction of Jerusalem, a.d. 70. This lecture is a key to the 
Bible ; study it and get some new and important ideas." The 
reason that the expectation of eighteen centuries as to the second 
coming of Christ has not been fulfilled is because " He came at 
the siege of Jerusalem, a.d. '70, * in the clouds of heaven, with 
power and great glory,' and judged ' the quick and the dead,' 
the righteous and wicked of the primitive Church and Jewish 
nation. This is the proposition we propose to establish by a 
careful review of the New Testament." The great value of his 
" discovery" is, he claims, that no one can understand the Bible 
without it. 

Many ingenious quotations and applications of Scripture are 
resorted to to prove his theory that all Christ's predictions 



116 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

relative to his second coming were fulfilled prior to the destruc- 
tion of that city, and that immediately thereafter he " snatched 
the righteous part of the primitive Church and the righteous dead 
of past ages and hurried with them into glory." " This was 
the first resurrection and first judgment corresponding to the 
Jewish and Gentile dispensations. The Jews as a nation had 
their judgment at the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Gentiles 
will have theirs at the end of the world." He rejects Peter's 
idea about the burning up of the physical universe as simulta- 
neous with Christ's second coming, stating that God allowed it to 
go into the Bible because " God wanted to curse the Antichrist 
part of the primitive Church on account of their unbelief con- 
cerning the coming of Christ then at hand." His doctrine, he 
contends, abolishes the communion which was to be celebrated 
" In remembrance of me till I come." 

He tells us in the next lecture, which "reviews Christianity 
from the destruction of Jerusalem to the present time," that 
Josephus and other historians make no mention of Christ's 
appearing at the destruction of Jerusalem, because it happened 
" in the clouds of heaven," directly over that city, and besides 
that they were too busy recording what happened on earth. 
The "terrible record of Christianity during the dark ages" was 
because Christ had left behind the unrighteous part of the 
primitive Church. Daring the fifteen centuries to the time of 
Luther " the Almighty seems to have withdrawn all interest in 
human affairs." The Roman Catholic Church had its origin in 
" the apostates whom Christ left on earth," and Luther was 
used as the instrument of reformation. Since then Christianity 
has been cursed by the thousand subdivisions among Protest- 
ants. 

The conclusion, which is devoted to " Hades," informs us 
that all who died before a.d. VO went to Hades, and remained 
there until that time, when they were resurrected and judged, 
the "sheep" passing into heaven and the "goats" into hell. 
Hades the author defines as a "resting place of the dead," 
"neither heaven nor hell." Its inhabitants are in a state of 
sleep, but not necessarily of unconsciousness. All who have 
died since a.d. VO "have been detained in Hades," where they 
will remain until the final judgment. Paul, who was executed 
A.D. 68, only waited two years in Hades, while Abraham was 
there 2,000 years. " The judgment of the Gentiles and the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 117 

destruction of this physical universe will be simultaneous." 
The world " is rapidly ripening for its final end." 



MORE ABOUT THE ASSASSIN. 

" I know Charles J. Guiteau very well," said Mr. Stephen 
English, the editor of the Insurance Times, to a Herald 
reporter. " He is an old offender, and there are many in this 
city who have good cause to complain of his fraudulent con- 
duct, myself among the number. Some time ago I retained 
liim as my lawyer in a case and intrusted him with a check for 
$300 to pay certain parties for services rendered. He drew the 
money and, instead of paying it out as I directed, he appro- 
priated it to his own purposes. Now, he had not the slightest 
excuse for this breach of trust, as I paid him liberally for his 
legal services. I had to pay the $300 a second time and 
brought an action in the courts against him to recover the sum. 
A judgment was obtained against him, but when Guiteau 
heard of it he fled the city. If you turn to the files of the 
Herald for the autumn of 1873 you will find that he there 
figured in police courts, where he was charged with what is 
vulgarly known as " bilking" hotel and boarding-house keepers. 
The reason I employed him was that I knew his brother, John 
J. Guiteau, who was then and is now connected with a life 
insurance agency in Boston. His brother is a very pleasant 
man and bore a good reputation. As soon as I ascertained 
Gniteau's real character from the Herald police reports I 
determined to secure his criminal indictment, but was dissuaded 
from my purpose by my lawyer, Mr. Darlington. He subse- 
quently went on the lecture platform and expatiated on religious 
topics, but did not venture nearer to New York than Jersey 
City, as he knew I was anxious to secure his arrest. I have 
always held that he was a disgrace to the legal profession, and 
I have been told that he was debarred in Illinois." 

^' Do you think it likely that he was insane when he shot the 
President, as is intimated in the Washington despatches ?" 

" Insane ? Not at all. He was a cool, calculating villain, and 
has always borne that character. There was nothing of the fool 
about him. He was a rascally knave, who dressed well, talked 
well, and cheated everybody he came ip contact with. He 



118 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

would accept a case and talk very favorably about it until lie 
had secured all the money from his client that he could. After 
months of procrastination and promises the client would wake 
up to find that he had been gulled and that nothing had been 
done in the case at all. Whoever takes Charles J. Guiteau for 
a fool is mistaken. He is an innate rascal. I never would have 
suspected him of assassination though ; he was not the style of 
a man who would ordinarily be capable of that kind of crime." 

"Did you know of his aspirations for office?" 

" I know that he was looking for a United States Consulship, 
and there never was a man more unfit for such a position. 
The President showed his wisdom by refusing to have anything 
to do with him. I suppose he must have made an investigation 
into his record and then dropped him from his consideration. 
If Mr. Garfield had appointed him as a consul I would have 
written to the Senate and taken every means in my power to 
denounce him. This is a fit ending to the life of such a man as 
Guiteau was." 

"Was he a good lawyer?" 

" No, I don't think he was. At least he never showed any legal 
cleverness or tact here. The man simply got all the money he 
could before his client found out who he was. As to his being 
debarred in Illindis I got that information through another 
person ; but I have every reason to believe that it is true. He 
was, I think, readmitted to the bar in this State. His brother 
is an entirely different kind of a person. He used to be in the 
employ of an insurance company in this city. I had close 
business relations with him several times, and came to think of 
Charles J. Guiteau as a good lawyer, because he was talked of 
frequently." 

General Ramsey, of New Jersey, was very emphatic in his 
denunciation of the outrage. He said : " It is a most terrible 
affair, and I cannot fully realize it as yet. My opinion is that 
the crime was committed by some political enemy, who saw 
that General Garfield was a man of nerve and courage, and 
could not be swayed by the clamor of one faction or another. 
I am at a loss to think what the event may mean. Events can 
only determine that. My impression is, however, that the 
design was well thought over and that the work was done by a 
cold-blooded villain. I do not believe in his insanity, although 
he may have had this affliction. The country is not in thft 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 119 

best possible condition when our President cannot go on the 
streets of the capital with safety." 

On the register of the librarian's department of the Young 
Men's Christian Association, at Twenty-third Street and Fourth 
Avenue, is written in a bold, round hand, under date of October 
20, 1873, in the handwriting of President Garfield's assassin : — 
"Gruiteau, Charles J., 31 East Twenty-second Street, city." 

The librarian of the institution, Mr. R. B. Poole, when ques- 
tioned concerning the would-be murderer by a Herald reporter, 
said : " Since he first registered his name in that book Guiteau 
was in the habit of coming here on and off. Sometimes I would 
see nothing of him for months together, and he has remained away 
as long as six months and a year. About six years ago he went 
to Chicago to study law and remained there a long while. Then 
he came back here again. He told me he was a passenger on 
the steamer Narragansett at the time she was wrecked by col- 
liding with the Stonington on the Sound. I remember he came 
up here the next day, and occupied several hours writing what he 
said was an account of that terrible disaster for the Herald. 
After this he disappeared again, and I next saw him last fall 
when he went off to work, as he said, for Garfield. Shortly 
afterwards I met him on the street, and he was then certainly 
better dressed than usual. To me he always appeared like a 
person floating round taking it easy. I should certainly say his 
mind was not evenly balanced, and I took him to be a man of 
indolent habits. At different times when he came up here he 
would write for hours together, and frequently consulted numer- 
ous books. As far as I know he never used intoxicating drinks, 
and in fact I understood he used to lecture on temperance. 
Sometimes he would borrow small amounts of me, but these he 
invariably repaid. I learned from him that he belonged to a 
free love community, but that was prior to October, 1873. I 
can't remember what sect it was." 

Mr. McBurney, the secretary of the association, who was 
found at his desk, said to the reporter : " I am certain Guiteau's 
mind was not properly balanced. I was astonished one day on 
opening a book which was sent to me to find his name attached 
to it as author. It was on religious subjects, but it was such a 
half-crazy medley that I threw it aside, and to-day when I 
looked for it failed to find it, so I cannot tell you its title. He 
was never a member of the association, but used our library, 



120 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

just as you or anybody else might do who conforms to our 
rules." 

The lady who occupied the house No. 31 East Twenty-second 
Street, where Guiteau claims to have lived in 1873, has removed 
to the country, and therefore no information could be obtained 
respecting him from that source. The list of the saved from 
the wreck of the ill-fated steamer Narragansett does not include 
the name of Guiteau. 

A member of Calvary Baptist Church said of him : 
" When I read the first despatches this morning, I doubted 
whether I knew the assassin ; but subsequent despatches assured 
me. He is the same Charles Guiteau who came to this city in 
the summer of 1871 with strong letters of recommendation from 
the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Chicago introducing 
and recommending him to our church. On the strength of 
these he was received into fellowship. He said that he had 
iived in New York, and been a member of the Rev, Henry Ward 
Beecher's church, but that on taking a wife in ^Chicago he 
became a member of her church. x\fter Guiteau had been some 
time in this city his wife called upon our pastor, the Rev. Dr. 
Robert S. MacArthur, and said that her husband was a practis- 
ing lawyer, and needed $100 pending the decision in an impor- 
tant case. Mr. MacArthur lent the $100, and that's the last he 
ever saw of it. Guiteau moved to Brooklyn that autumn, but 
continued to attend our church and to have a sitting in it, and 
occasionally he attended our social meetings. Then he moved 
back to this city, and in 1876 or 1877 his wife visited our pas- 
tor and recited a story of wrongs that satisfied us that her hus- 
band was a thoroughly disreputable, bad man. The story of his 
immoralities is about as bad as such a tale could be. His licen- 
tioasness and his brutality had driven Mrs. Guiteau to institute 
proceedings for divorce. She is a good, true woman, and Lad 
borne all that a human being could bear, and then she appealed 
to the courts. A decree of divorce was granted. We cited him 
to appear before a committee of discipline, and he appeared in 
response to the citation. He acknowledged his gross immor- 
ality and professed penitence, at the same time beseeching us 
not to discipline him publicly, as such an act might ruin him. 
But his penitence seemed to be feigned : we more than doubted 
his sincerity. Therefore we summoned him to answer a charge 
of gross immorality, but on the evening set down for the hear- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 121 

ing lie did not appear, and he was unanimously expelled from 
Calvary Baptist Church. 

" But notwithstanding he had proved himself an incorrigibly 
bad man Guiteau had the effrontery not long after his ignomini- 
ous expulsion from our church to send for Dr. MacArthur to 
intercede for him in Jefferson Market Police Court. Guiteau 
had been arrested for obtaining money under false pretences. 
The magistrate was willing to deal leniently with the prisoner if 
our pastor desired it; but Mr. MacArthur said that Guiteau's 
career had been such that he could not conscientiously interfere 
to save him from prison. 

"The next I heard of Guiteau was last fall, when he was 
advertised as one of the speakers at the political meetings. As 
long ago as when he was expelled from our church we had 
doubts as to his sanity, and I can readily believe, in view of the 
life he has led, that he is insane." 

NEVER A CONSUL. 

Frank W. Potter, late United States Consul at Marseilles, 
said: "No such person as Guiteau ever was United States Con- 
sul at Marseilles. The only consuls at that port now living are 
George W. Van Horn, of Wisconsin, from 1861 to 1867 ; Mar- 
tin F. Conway, of Kansas, from 1867 to 1869; Milton M. Price, 
of Iowa, from 1869 to 1873; Frank W. Potter, of New Jersey, 
from 1873 to 1878, and J. B. Gould, of Massachusetts, from 
1878 to 1881. Horace N. Taylor, of Michigan, was recently 
appointed to succeed Gould. It is more likely that the assassin 
was applicant for instead of an occupant of the Marseilles con- 
sulate." 

Some explicit and reliable information concerning what the 
police would called the " pedigree" of the would-be assassin of 
President Garfield was furnished by Mr. S. D. Phelps, of No. 112 
East Thirty-seventh Street, New York city. Mr. Phelps, whose 
oflBce is in the Evening Post building, and who is well known as 
a business man in this city, was formerly Charles J. Guiteau's 
employer, and tells his story as follows : 

"Guiteau — Charles J. Guiteau, I mean" — said Mr. Phelps, 

" was formerly a clerk in the employ of the law firm of Reynolds 

& Phelps, of which I was the junior member. We had our 

office in the Mercantile Building, so called, in La Salle Street, 

6 



122 TEE ASSASSmATION OF 

Chicago, just opposite to the Chamber of Commerce Building, 
in 1867-68. Guiteau was a clerk in our employ during a part 
of those years, though I am unable now to say whether he was 
employed by General Reynolds or myself. I don't remember now 
what his references were or how we came to employ him. All 
I know is that he was engaged either by my partner or myself, and 
that he had a desk in our office. He was employed in the usual 
duties of a law clerk. After he had been in our employ for a con- 
siderable time — I cannot say just how long, though it was in the 
years I have mentioned — I came to know something of his past 
history, though not very much, by the fact that he consulted me 
in regard to the possibility of his recovering a considerable sum 
of money that he had invested or placed in the Oneida Com- 
munity. 

" I learned by the facts that he disclosed to me in this con- 
sultation that he had been a member of the Oneida Community 
for a considerable time, and that he had, as I understood the 
case, invested some $16,000 in the funds of the Community. 
That is the amount as I recollect it, though I can't say Jihat I 
am certain about the amount. 

" He told me that the male novitiate in that Community, that 
is to say the younger male members, had to serve a term of two 
or three years of pupilage before they could have any communi- 
cation with the female members, and that it was during this 
novitiate that he had invested money that he had in the Com- 
munity. He was enthusiastic about the matter at first and he 
remained with the Community, as he stated the circumstances to 
me, some two or three years ; but not being advanced as rapidly 
as he thought he ought to be in consideration of his individual 
merits he left and started into the legal profession in his own 
fashion. After he had deserted the Community he made some 
effort to get his money back, but on his own statement of the 
transactions as he made it to me I advised him that he would 
never be able to recover the money under the terms of the 
agreement he made in paying it, and so far as I know he never 
did recover the money or any part of it. 

"When he c;une into our office he knew but little law, 
although he had read some text books. If I remember right he 
was tolerably well informed concerning a part of Blackstone. 
While he was with us he performed the ordinary duties that fall 
to the lot of the clerk of a law firm, such as copying papers, etc. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 123 

He had not been with us long, however, before it was observed 
— and it was a significant circumstance — that he never could 
apply himself properly to anything that was put in his charge. 
He was always unreliable. I cannot say, even now, that he was 
a lunatic or an idiot, but there was something wrong about him, 
and I don't know that I can express it any better than by say- 
ing that there was a screw loose somewhere, or perhaps I ought 
to say that be was weakminded. I wouldn't undertake to make 
a diagnosis of his case, but it was certain that, as the Scotch say, 
he was * not all there.* 

" After he had been with us about one and a half or two 
years his services were dispensed with. I don't think you had 
better say that he was discharged — his services were dispensed 
with is a better phrase. We didn't care to keep him in the office 

any longer. In short he wasn't worth a . After he left us 

I saw him occasionally at intervals for several years. I was con- 
nected with the Chicago Inter- Ocean, and during the time that 
I was on that paper he came to see me on a number of different 
occasions, telling me that he had concocted a scheme to buy out 
the Inter- Ocean for $500,000, and by controlling the policy of 
that paper to run the politics of the entire country. I paid 
only a little heed to his stories, for I had reason, from my pre- 
vious knowledge of him, to believe that he was weakminded, 
and that what he said was not to be relied upon. I got that 
impression in the law office, and his conversation when he called 
on me in the office of the Inter- Ocean confirmed it. His visits 
after a time became so annoying that I instructed the oflBce boy 
to say to him whenever he should call that I was not in. I don't 
know that I can say why I thought he was unreliable, except- 
ing that there was a certain look about his eye that suggested it, 
and the general impression that one obtained by talking with 
him was that of a man who was non compos mentis. I can't 
describe it any better, but everybody will understand the mat- 
ter if you state it in that way. 

"During the years 1874-75 he was connected, I believe, with 
the Chicago press in some capacity, though I cannot say with 
what paper or in what capacity he worked. I can't exactly 
locate him, but I'm certain he was at that time a newspaper man. 
After that I never saw him until I met him two or three years 
ago in Newport. I met him afterwards in the Fifth Avenue 
Hotel in this city, and he told me that he had either just re- 



134 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

ceived, or was just about to receive, a goverument appointment 
to some position in France. I do not know certainly whether 
he ever had such a position or not, but I have the impression 
that he did. He said he had been taking considerable part 
in political matters, and that this was the reward he had 
received or was about to receive from President Hayes, or the 
administration under President Hayes. I had known before 
that, and I told him so, that he had been prominent in stumping 
the State of Illinois for Hayes, and that he had taken consider- 
able part in the canvass outside of the State of Illinois. I did 
not prolong the conversation because I had no confidence in his 
prospects as he had stated them to me. I really thought that 
he did not know what he was talking about, though I have the 
impression that he did get some sUch appointment as be talked 
about, and, if I am not wrong, he was Consul at Marseilles. 

" Two or three years after this I met him several times on the 
streets of New York. Perhaps this was three or four years ago, 
but I didn't care to talk with him when I met him, because I 
did not think his talk was worthy of any attention. Since then 
I haven't heard from him, and I think it must have been as long 
ago as 1878 or 1877 that I saw him last." 

Being asked for a personal description of Guiteau, Mr. Phelps 
said that he was now about thirty-three or thirty-four years old, 
and about five feet eight inches in height. Judging from his 
appearance when he last saw him he was probably about 145 
pounds in weight. When Mr. Phelps last saw him he had a 
short cropped black beard. His mouth was large and his eyes 
wore large and dark and very restless. He had the trick, so 
often associated with guilt, of never looking an interlocutor in 
the eye, and was extraordinarily nervous in all his movements. 
In manner he was preoccupied and was never able to confine 
himself to a single subject in conversation, but jumped from one 
subject to another in an erratic manner. He was a single man 
and it was understood belonged to a good family in Baltimore. 
While he was in the office of Reynolds & Phelps he was con- 
stantly in receipt of remittances from Baltimore. 

Guiteau was well known to many persons who frequented 
the various Republican headquarters in this city during the last 
campaign. He came to this city at that time from Chicago, 
and registered at the Coleman House. He claimed to be em- 
^ loyed in the State Committee rooms, and secured credit in a 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 125 

number of places on the strength of that claim. He vainly 
endeavored to get Chairman Jewell, of the National Committee, 
Chairman Arthur, of the State Committee, or President Mani- 
erre, of the RepubHcan Central Campaign Club, to send him 
out as a campaign speaker. He wrote two or three speeches as 
specimens of what he could do. They were wild and disjointed 
and showed the man to be incapable of making a speech, so he 
was not employed. He was a frequent visitor at the various 
headquarters, and although somewhat wild in his appearance, 
no one .regarded him as anything but a man who hoped to get 
office. "If he is insane," said a gentleman last night, who 
knows him well, " there is a good deal of method in his mad- 
ness ; about too much for belief." 

In the course of the campaign, Mr. Gildersleeve, a printer of 
this city, who was doing much work for the Republican Na- 
tional Committee, was called upon by Guiteau with letters of 
introduction and recommendation from some persons at the 
National Committee rooms. He had a speech in manuscript 
which he desired put in type, and represented that the com- 
mittee would meet the expense. Mr. Gildersleeve not finding 
in the letters definite authorization for the publication hesitated 
and examined the speech. He found it a very extravagant 
eulogy of General Grant and his friends, but Guiteau said that 
it was his aim by that means to draw the friends of Grant to 
the support of General Garfield. The same speech, though not 
printed by Mr. Gildersleeve, was, it is believed, delivered more 
than once during the campaign. 

About the middle of March last, Guiteau wrote to a man in 
this city, who is a prominent member of the Republican Cen- 
tral Campaign Club, and who took an active part in the cam- 
paign of last year, saying that he had been promised the 
position of Consul at one of the Austrian ports ; that his claims 
were being pressed by Senators Logan and Conkling, and there 
was no doubt of his appointment. He added that if he received 
the position he would appoint the man to whom the letter was 
addressed as his secretary. The recipient of the letter was con- 
gratulating himself on his good luck, when he received another 
from Guiteau asking for the loan of twenty dollars, promising 
to repay it when he received his appointment as Consul. This 
was too transparent a fraud to be successful, and the man from 
whom the loan was solicited was conveniently "short" at that time. 



126 TBE A88A88INATI0N OF 

Guiteau afterwards sent several letters and postal cards de- 
nouncing this man as " no gentleman" for declining to advance 
him so small a sum. 

H. B. Pool, Librarian of the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation, told a Tribune reporter last evening that he had known 
Guiteau for nearly eight years. He was never a member of the 
Association, but often went there to read. In the readers' 
register is his signature with his address, " Guiteau, Chas. J., 
No. 31 East Twenty-second Street, October 20, 1879." The 
day after the disaster to the steamer Narragansett last summer, 
he visited the library and told Mr. Pool that he had been on 
the steamer that was struck, but that he was not afraid for he 
was a Christian, and knew that if the steamer had sunk he was 
prepared to die. 

A few weeks before the last November election Guiteau 
stated that he was going to work for Garfield with all his soul. 
He did not go to the Association building until after the 
election, when he had a new suit of clothes and seemed to have 
plenty of money. He then said he was going to Chicago to 
study law ; and he has not been there since. 

When asked as to Guiteau's sanity, Mr. Pool stated that he 
did not think the man had a well-balanced mind ; he always was 
just going to do something wonderful, but never seemed to do 
it. He was very quiet, but never seemed to have any purpose 
in life. Previous to his coming to New York, he had belonged 
to a Free-love community, but had left that sect, and did not 
belong to any church. Inquiry at Guiteau's former boarding- 
house in Twenty-second Street revealed nothing, as the present 
family has lived there only a short time, and knew nothing of 
the persons who had previously occupied the house. 

When Guiteau came to this city several years ago from 
Chicago, his wife, whom he married there, was with him. She 
is described as an estimable woman. Both of them brought 
letters from a prominent pastor of a Baptist Church in Chicago, 
and were admitted to membership in the Calvary Baptist 
Church in Twenty -third Street, of which the Rev. Robert S. 
MacArthur is pastor. A short time after his admission to the 
church it was discovered that Guiteau was grossly immoral, 
and was at once publicly expelled from the society. It is 
believed by those who knew him that his professions of religion 
were made in order to advance his ends. He pretended to 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 127 

practise law, but was never known to have clients except such 
as he could pick up at the police courts. A man who knew 
him at that time said last night that Guiteau was nothing more 
than a confidence man, and that he was once arrested on a 
charge of obtaining money under false pretences. After his 
release from confinement in the old Jefferson Market Police 
Court prison, he brought suit against one of the daily news- 
papers for defamation of character. By this suit he anticipated 
making a large fortune. Meanwhile he did nothing for his 
wife's support, and cruelty being added to neglect, she ob- 
tained a divorce from him on the ground of abandonment and 
infidelity. Some time after his arrest Guiteau removed to 
Brooklyn, where he had lived before going to Chicago. 

HIS BAD NAME AT SARATOGA. 

Saratoga, N. Y., July 2. — Guiteau was in Saratoga early in 
the Presidential campaign, and advertised as follows in the 
Saratogian : " Garfield against Hancock. Charles Guiteau, of / 
Illinois, the orator from the West, will speak at the Town Hall, / 
Saratoga, Saturday, July 10, at eight p.m. Admission twenty- 
five cents. Let the people turn out and hear an able, eloquent 
and patriotic address." 

The meeting never came off. Guiteau was present without 
an audience. He therefore " skipped" his board bill and the 
town without paying for the hall or for the advertising. The 
books of the Saratogian opened this account at the time : 
"Charles Guiteau, July 1, 1880, to advertising lecture of Gar- j 
field-Hancock daily, three dollars." Across the face of this the / 
bookkeeper had long ago written " fraud." 

Judge Anthony, of Chicago, is here, and states that Guiteau 
is " a rattle-headed" fellow, who was a laughing stock in Chi- 
cago. His explanation of the action is that Guiteau became 
crazy on the subject of office, and not getting one was soured, 
listened to the loud talk of the Stalwarts during the present 
controversy, and acted out his own inclinations. 



guiteau known at poughkeepsie. 

PouGHKEEPSiE, N. Y., July 2. — The assassin of the President, 
Charles Guiteau, was in this city in July last, and advertised a 



128 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

lecture on the political situation, on the evening of July 2, one 
year ago to-day. An admission fee was to be charged, and as 
people would not pay to go to a political meeting the lecture was 
not delivered. He afterwards wanted to be engaged as a speaker 
by the Republican Committee, but the leading Republicans here 
thought his mind was unsound and would have nothing to do 
with him. He afterwards was announced to speak at other places 
in this State. 



SERVICES REJECTED. 

Albany, July 2. — Thurlow Weed Barnes, of the Albany Even- 
ing Journal, who was chairman of the County Committee, says 
that Guiteau called upon him last October, and asked for a chance 
to speak on the stump for the Republican National ticket. Mr. 
Barnes questioned him closely at the time, and not liking his 
looks, told E. M. Johnson, secretary of the State Committee, that 
he believed Guiteau to be a fraud. 



Guiteau an Applicant for the Austrian Mission — Soliciting 
Granfs Influence. 

" I met Guiteau in the Fifth Avenue Hotel at the close of the last 
Presidential campaign. He wanted me to sign a paper recom- 
mending him as a proper person to appoint as Minister to Aus- 
tria. I knew nothing about him ; but Col. Frederick Grant, my 
son, told me that Guiteau was a lawyer in Chicago, and was sup- 
posed to be half crazy. I subsequently heard that he had deliv- 
ered some speeches in favor of the election of Presidents Hayes 
and Garfield. He was no doubt crazy when he shot the Presi- 
dent, and I attach no political importance to his act under these 
circumstances. It was the act of a cowardly assassin who had 
been disappointed in his search for office. Guiteau evidently 
believed that he was a man of great importance to the Republi- 
can party, and the defeat of his aims must have unbalanced his 
mind. He told me that he was engaged to a young woman 
worth one million dollars, and that he should obtain the appoint- 
ment he was looking for if I would join Henry Ward Beecher 
and others in seeking it for him. I refused to sign his paper. I 



JPMESIDENT GARFIELD. 129 

told my servant not to allow him to enter my parlors. He sub- 
sequently forced his way in one day, but I refused to talk with 
him and dismissed him speedily. I regret this sad occurrence 
from the bottom of my heart." 

A SPECIMEN DEAD-BEAT LECTURE. 

Newark, N. J., also furnishes a characteristic reminiscence of 
the assassin, Charles J. Guiteau. He visited there in March, 1878, 
announcing himself as a lawyer, an orator, and a lecturer. He 
advertised in the local papers as follows : 

NEWARK OPERA HOUSE. 

"Is There a Hell?" 

CHARLES J. GUITE4U, 

A Chicago lawyer and orator of great power, will answer this 
question, and review 

ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, 

AT THE 

Newark Opera House, Friday, March 8, at eight o'clock. 

Admission, 10 cents; reserved seats, 15 cents. For sale at Dennis 
& Co.'s. 

8t^" The Boston papers speak of this lecture as a masterly effort 
full of ideas. 

On the day after the "lecture" the Newark Daily Journal 
gave the following account of it and the lecturer: 

"is there a hell?" 

Fifty deceived people of the opinion that there ought to he. 

The man Charles J. Guiteau, if such really is his name, who 
calls himself an eminent Chicago lawyer, has fraud and imbecility 
plainly stamped upon his countenance, and it is not surprising 
that his " lecture" in the Opera House last evening did not leave 
a pleasant impression on the minds of the fifty people who 
assembled to hear him reply to Bob Ingersoll's talk on hell. 

His lecture was a wonderful production of genius. It consisted 
of the averment that the second coming of Christ occurred in 
the year 70, when Jerusalem was destroyed ; interesting readinns 
0* 



130 ^SE ASSASSINATION OT" 

from the book of Genesis, and the prediction that the world 
would soon come to an end. 

Although the impudent scoundrel had talked only fifteen 
minutes, he suddenly perorated brilliantly by thanking the 
audience for their attention and bidding them good night. Before 
the astounded fifty had recovered from their amazement, or the 
half dozen bill collectors who were waiting for an interview with 
the lecturer had comprehended the situation, the latter had fled 
from the building and escaped. He is supposed to be a first 
cousin of the spiritualistic fraud who played the same game in 
New Institute Hall last spring. 

It was ascertained that the notices Guiteau exhibited as having 
appeared in the Boston papers were fabrications. 



PRESIDENT GAMFIELD. 131 



THE rEELIE"G THEOUGHOUT THE 
OOUIfTEY. 



IJSr NEW YORK CITY. 

THE STORY OP THE SHOOTING RECEIVED WITH HORROR AND 
SADNESS SCENES ON THE STREETS AND IN HOTEL CORRI- 
DORS — HOW THE PARTICULARS OF THE AFFAIR WERE GIVEN 
TO THE PUBLIC. 

Not since the gloomy 15tli of April, 1865, when the news of 
the death of the martyred President, Abraham Lincoln, was 
received, has this city been the scene of so much excitement, 
mingled with heartfelt mourning, as yesterday. At 10 o'clock 
in the morning, just when the active business of the day was 
beginning, and when the down-town streets were filled with 
merchants and business men, the first despatch announcing that 
President Garfield had been shot in the depot at Washington 
was received. It was a somewhat indefinite message, but gave 
the impression that the President had been killed. In an 
incredibly short time the terrible news had spread throughout 
the business part of the community down town, and alarm and 
consternation were stamped on every face. The story seemed 
so preposterous at first that those who heard it refused to be- 
lieve it, and set it down as a canard. President Garfield's life 
had been of such a character that it seemed almost impossible 
for him to have made any personal enemies, and the notion 
that he had been murdered as a political measure could not be 
entertained for a moment. Scores of men hurried to the West- 
ern Union Telegraph oflBce, hoping that the news would be 
found false. They were met there by a sad confirmation of the 
despatch, although they learned that the President was not dead, 
and that hopes of his recovery were entertained by Surgeon- 
General Bliss and the other physicians in attendance upon him. 
These hopes were something to lean upon for a while, and men 



132 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

went about their business as usual ; but faces were clouded witb 
fear, and there were no smiles to be seen among the thousands 
of persons who thronged the lower part of Broadway. 

Meantime the news had spread with remarkable rapidity 
throughout the length and breadth of the city. The telegraph 
carried it to all the principal hotels, and from these common 
centres of information it radiated to the smallest side streets in 
the crowded tenement-house districts. Before noon there was 
scarcely a man, woman, or child on Manhattan Island who did 
not know that the Chief Magistrate of the nation had been shot 
and probably killed. Groups formed on the sidewalks and dis- 
cussed the terrible news excitedly. In the hotels and the clubs, 
in the parks and in the saloons, wherever there was room and 
opportunity for men to gather together, they assembled in 
crowds and talked over the tragedy which had been enacted at 
the capital of the nation. But little of the details of the terri- 
ble crime were known at this time, and speculation had full 
swing, not only in debating upon the probable result of the 
attack on the President, but in seeking some plausible motive 
for the act of the assassin. If President Gartield should die, 
Vice-President Arthur would become the executive of the 
nation, and the effect of his accession to the power and patron- 
age of the executive office was the -subject of grave discussion 
among the business men of the community. Merchants were 
alarmed at the possibilities involved in the death of President 
Garfield. On the whole, however, great confidence was dis- 
played in the innate strength of our popular institutions. " It 
seems," said one prominent merchant, "that we are adopting 
the system of the Russian Nihilists in America, but it won't 
work here. If President Garfield dies we shall go on the same 
as before, only we shall mourn the loss of a pure and good 
patriot at the head of the state." This sentiment, after the. 
first shock was passed, was echoed on all sides, and men went 
about their business with sad faces, but still hopeful that the 
worst to be feared might not be realized. 

At 11 o'clock the news of the assault upon the President came 
slightly more in detail, and with the absolute knowledge that 
President Garfield was still living, and that Dr. Bliss gave great 
hopes of his recovery, men breathed more freely ; but still there 
was a sad and subdued look upon the faces of all as they passed 
in the street or met in the public places. The newspapers were 



PnEPWENT GARFIELD. 133 

receiving despatches every few minutes, and as fast as tliey came 
from Washington they were posted on the bulletin boards, so as 
to give the earliest possible information of any change in the 
President's condition to the anxious people. Park Row became 
the centre of attraction, and the sidewalks and streets in front 
of the different newspaper offices were soon crowded with men, 
who stood in the broiling sun and forgot the heat in their eager- 
ness to hear the latest news from Washington. The throngs 
became so great between 11 and 12 o'clock that six policemen 
were statioped at each office to keep the passage-way clear for 
pedestrians. The men were very quiet and orderly, and talked 
in low tones of the tragedy and its probable and possible effects. 
The excitement was too deep to display itself in the ordinary 
noisy way, and the sadness of the people too genuine and heart- 
felt to expend itself in loud talk. There were men of all shades 
of political opinion in the crowds which surged round the bul- 
letins; but they all had one sentiment in common upon the 
great crime which had been committed, and the invectives 
heaped upon the murderer were bitter and terrible. Broadway 
at its junction with Park Row was filled with a crowd so dense 
that a dozen policemen were required to furnish a passage for 
vehicles, and there was momentary danger of somebody being 
run over and killed. Drug stores and hotels also had their bul- 
letins, and those, too, were crowded with men anxious to hear 
the latest news from the President. 

At noon extras appeared, and the newsboys and girls pushed 
their way into the throngs around the bulletin boards, and flew 
up town as fast as the elevated trains could carry them. The 
demand for the papers was greater than the supply, and the 
boys sold out their stock as fast as they could peddle the papers 
out. Very little change was made, as people were too anxious 
to read the news to bother the boys for the change of a nickel 
or a dime. The papers were soon in everybody's hand, and the 
whole city was reading the meagre details of the tragedy which 
had been telegraphed up to noon. Nearly every passenger in 
the horse-cars had a paper, and men edged their way through 
the crowds in the street reading the few lines which had come 
from Washington. The information given in these early de- 
spatches was very brief, but it was of a reassuring nature. The 
President had been removed to the White House, was conscious, 
and the doctors thought that he might survive, while Guiteau, 



134 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the assassin, was in jail under a strong guard. The hopes held 
forth by this news were eagerly grasped at by the excited multi- 
tude, and all began to feel somewhat reassured. Despatches 
continued to be received every few minutes, and the news which 
they contained was posted on the bulletins and issued in extras 
during the entire afternoon. Up to three o'clock they were 
favorable to the recovery of the President. Postmaster-General 
James telegraphed to the Times that Dr. Bliss gave great hopes 
of saving the life of President Garfield, and this despatch, when 
posted on the bulletin board, was accepted by the throng as 
almost decisive that the assassin's bullet had not reached a vital 
point. 

CALUMNY BURIED. 

It is needless to say that all the calumnies of the campaign 
last year were utterly buried and forgotten, and a warm feeling 
of affection for the man was cherished in every breast animated 
with the common instincts of humanity. As the afternoon wore 
on the crowds about the bulletin boards increased in force and 
eagerness, until it became necessary to send several details of 
policemen to keep the sidewalks clear and unobstructed. Even 
then there was some difficulty in making way for pedestrians, 
so intensely anxious were the people to get at and read the bul- 
letins as they came thick and fast from Washington. A little 
after two o'clock despatches leaving no further hopes of the 
President's recovery were received, and the excitement rose to 
fever heat. In the rotunda of the Astor House several groups 
of politicians were assembled, and as a rule their criticism of 
the affair in Washington was confined to the emphatic expres- 
sion, "D dest outrage that ever was." Here and there some 

asinine specimen of the human breed attributed the catastrophe 
to the political agitation at Albany in the election of United 
States senators, and went so far as to hold Conkling and Piatt 
responsible for the deed ; but the great mass of citizens, when 
they learned the full particulars, which came along from Wash- 
ington between four and five in the afternoon, indicating that 
the assassin had no political or pertinent motive whatever — that 
he was simply a plain and unadulterated lunatic, who in a par- 
ticular mood of mind would shoot any man who was the occu- 
pant of the same high station that Garfield filled — felt that there 
was nothing left to criticise ; that all it resolved itself into was. 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 135 

that a crazy man met the President of the United States at a 
favorable opportunity, and shot him in his unreasoning delirium. 
All along Broadway and other leading streets bulletins an- 
nouncing the tragic occurrence were hung up outside business 
stores, and the whole city was soon aware of the direful pro- 
ceeding. Men in the rotunda of the Astor House, who were 
political opponents of Garfield, spoke in the most kindly 
possible strain about him. One who formerly held a prominent 
position in the city government said, " This thing makes my 
heart bleed. No matter what Garfield was politically or any 
other way, he was a splendid specimen of American manhood. 
He was in the prime of life and health, and married to a most 
superior woman. Think of that woman's grief ; think of her 
children's grief ; think of the grief of a whole nation, who 
hoped, despite all the low, sneering twaddle of the politicians, 
to enjoy four years of unexampled prosperity under his admin- 
istration. It is the saddest tragedy, every way you take it, that 
was ever perpetrated on American soil." Much talk like this 
prevailed in the Astor House. 



WHAT MAYOR GRACE SAID. 

Mayor Grace felt profoundly shocked on receipt of the news 
from Washington. He said : " I found it difficult to account 
for the motive that could have induced such a crime. Certainly 
President Garfield was not the type of man to provoke such a 
vindictive outrage. He was popular with men of both parties, 
and his death will be universally deplored. Yet, from the 
strange political happenings that have been recently occurring in 
Albany and elsewhere, nothing is apt to surprise people. The late 
event at the State capital is quite as bewildering as the news just 
received from Washington, and indicates that there is something 
rotten in the political and moral system of the whole country. 
God has conferred great blessings on this country, but there 
appears to be little disposition to thank him for the fact. The 
rush in every direction appears to be entirely after material things, 
to the total neglect of the higher and more spiritual necessities 
of men, and no wonder that the country is visited with disasters 
like this." 



136 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



EXCITED THRONGS AT THE BULLETIN BOARDS. 

Excited throngs congregated up to a late hour in the evening 
in front of the bulletin boards, anxiously scanning the despatches 
as they were received and placed in a conspicuous position. 
These despatches were sufficiently contradictory to be confusing 
and exasperating. At one time it was confidently announced 
that the President's injuries were not serious, and that his pulse 
and temperature were normal, that the doctor was in attendance, 
and that the balls would soon be extracted without danger to the 
patient. Another account stated that he was suffering from 
collapse, and no hopes were entertained of his recovery. These 
conflicting reports produced alternate feelings of hope and de- 
spondency in the breasts of the anxious and expectant multitude. 
At one time the crowds would look reassured and confident, 
words of encouragement and hope would be interchanged, and 
the deep-seated gloom that rested on every face would be tem- 
porarily dispelled. Yes, the President would be spared to the 
country after all ; the sanguinary and cowardly designs of the 
would-be assassin would be frustrated. Congratulations there- 
upon would be interchanged, and the restless assemblage would 
begin to melt away. The next moment a heated-looking courier 
would make his appearance bearing a sheet of paper. That was 
the signal for those in the street to crowd forward those who 
held a closer and more advantageous position on the sidewalk. 
Every one wanted to ascertain without a moment's loss of time 
the latest change in the President's condition. A low murmur 
of pent-up passion and indignation greeted the posting of the 
despatch, which contained the information that the President was 
in a precarious condition. Men could not believe that he would 
die. Why should the Chief Executive of the nation — a man, 
too, of amiable traits — be ruthlessly shot down and slain, with- 
out warning or provocation, in the honeymoon of his administra- 
tion, so to speak, and at a time when the country was enjoy- 
ing profound peace and the greatest prosperity ? While these 
feelings were predominant, the general excitement would be 
increased to the straining point by another bulletin setting forth 
that death had actually put an end to his sufferings. Then the 
fierce denunciation that honest citizens heaped upon the head 
of the assassin would find vent in a vehement shout of rage. 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 137 

and men would walk away with darkened brows and clinched 
teeth, muttering threats of vengeance. 

SCANNING THE DESPATCHES. 

A group of excited persons drew a large audience in front of 
the bulletin boards, while they eagerly commented upon the 
character of the despatches received. " It has come to a pretty 
pass," said one, who, by common consent, seemed to be regarded 
as spokesman, " when the chosen Chief Magistrate of the nation 
is shot down by the hand of an assassin ! Is it not enough that 
in our day and generation, in this boasted nineteenth century 
civilization, we should have one martyred President? Is this 
country to become Cossack in its methods of political warfare ? 
It will not be long until it can be said of us, as it has been of 
Russia, that ours is a government tempered with assassination. 
We must stamp out such miscreants, if any exist. Whoever is 
guilty of this terrible deed must pay the penalty for it with his 
life. No mercy must be shown to traitors or assassins ; a terri- 
ble example must be made of the miscreant, whether the Presi- 
dent live or die, who has produced such a shock to the moral 
and humane conscience of every honest, self-respecting and God- 
fearing man." 

These remarks, delivered with vehement declamation, were 
applauded by all present. The popular miud was worked up to 
the highest pitch of frenzy. The news of the shooting, so wan- 
ton, so deliberate, and so atrocious, for the time being appalled 
and terrified the nation. All classes and conditions of men, 
without regard to party proclivities. Democrats and Republicans, 
Secessionists and Federalists alike, were equally concerned in the 
tragedy, and all freely and vehemently denounced the act. 

"Thirteen of my family," remarked a man as he scanned the 
bulletin board, " served in the Confederate army, and only five 
of them escaped death on the field of battle, and when I heard 
of the assassination of Lincoln I regarded it as a political blun- 
der, if nothing worse ; but this is past human comprehension ; 
it prostrates one's judgment and conscience; it is the greatest 
of all recorded crimes ; it is a reproach to our age and a dis- 
grace to our institutions." 

Another absorbing phase of the tragedy, scarcely subordinate 
in pubUc interest to the question of the death or recovery of the 



138 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

victim was, "Who was the perpetrator of the savage deed, and 
what the motive of the crime ?" The wildest reports were in 
circulation during a portion of the day on these heads. One 
was that the slayer was actuated by jealous motives, another 
that lunacy was the prevailing cause. Others, again, urged that 
the Stalwart fight was responsible for it all ; that, in fact, it was 
the result of a deep-laid conspiracy. The few foolish people 
who took the latter view of the case reluctantly relinquished 
iheir prejudiced theory only when later and fuller despatches 
showed that in all probability the assassin was demented, and 
not morally responsible for his awful crime. 

When the announcement was made that Mrs. Garfield had 
arrived in Washington and conversed with her husband, who 
was said to be " rapidly sinking," a groan of sorrow and despair 
escaped from the bulletin gazers. At half-past eight in the even- 
ing a cheer rent the air in front of the Herald office, where 
thousands had congregated in feverish expectation to catch the 
very latest information from Washington. This expression of 
gratitude and approval was occasioned by the public display of 
the following despatch : " The President's voice is stronger and 
unimpaired. He converses freely with those near him." 



AT THE HOTELS AND CLUB-ROOMS. 

The scenes in and around the leading hotels were scarcely 
less exciting. Many persons who, during the warmest portions 
of the day, had stood in the streets anxiously scanning the bul- 
letin boards, late in the afternoon could be seen in the corridor 
or reading-room of some hotel still discussing the tragical situa- 
tion. The Fifth Avenue, the Brunswick, the Windsor, Del- 
monico's, and other similar resorts were frequented by groups of 
excited citizens, all eagerly discussing the one overwhelming 
and absorbing subject. It is safe to say that every person — 
man, woman, and child — in the city talked hardly of anything 
else. People who had read their morning paper in mental 
quietude and proceeded to their daily avocations untroubled 
and undisturbed, a few hours later were thrown into the pro- 
foundest state of excitement. The news, in fact, for the time 
being, brought all sorts of business to a standstill, and men 
otherwise filled with personal and political cares and responsi- 
bilities at once left their offices and homes, and sought for 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 139 

further particulars of the tragedy at some club-house or hotel. 
The smallest gossip or rumor was received with the greatest 
interest. The man who had talked with any leading political 
celebrity was sought out that his views and opinions might be 
received, while the evening papers were read with eagerness. 

At the Fifth Avenue Hotel several gentlemen were engaged 
in an animated conversation. One ventured to remark that he 
thought the dastardly deed would be the means of cementing 
the Republican party. Another scouted the insinuation that 
politics had anything to do with the tragedy, and that if the 
victim survived his injuries party lines would remain unchanged. 
At the height of the debate a man, wearing a check jumper, 
pushed himself eagerly, to the front. In an instant all eyes were 
turned upon him. " Say, mister," said he to the central figure 
of the group, " what was the man's — I mean the scoundrel's 
name that did it ? It wasn't Doty, was it ?•" There was some- 
thing almost grotesque in the wistful expression of the man's 
face as he waited for an answer. 

" No," said the gentleman addressed, " the papers say his 
name is Guiteau." "Thank God for that!" said the other 
rapturously, " for my own name is Doty, and I heard that the 
fellow who shot the President was called Doty, too. If he was 
I'd never own my name for the rest of my life. Thank you, 
i^entlemen," and the honest fellow walked away, looking 
happy. 

An almost similar incident occurred in the rotunda of the 
Astor House. A gentleman was scanning the Telegram, and 
standing close to the cashier's desk, when a thick-set citizen with 
a scowling face approached and asked : 

" What's the news, boss ? Is it true what they tell me about 
the President ?" 

"If you have reference to his being shot, I am afraid it is," 
was the answer. The gentleman bent his gaze upon the paper, 
when his interlocutor again inquired : 

" They say that he was shot by a man of the name of Dough- 
erty ; is that true, also ?" 

" I think not ; the papers don't state so ; the assassin's name 
is said to be Guiteau." 

" That's good news for me," said the other thankfully. 

" Why so ; how can it be good news for you ?" asked the gen- 
tleman, regarding his questioner attentively. 



140 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

" Oh, Dougherty's my name, and I wouldn't like to have It 
disgraced like that." 

" But what made you think that Dougherty was the name of 
the assassin ?" was the next inquiry. 

" I was told so by a man who said he read it in the papers," 
was the reply, as the man turned and walked away. 

WALL STREET IN A FERMENT. 

The news created much excitement in Wall Street and the 
neighborhood, and expressions "of sympathy, regret, vengeance, 
consternation, disgust, and general sorrow were heard on all 
sides in the throngs that crowded the different exchanges and 
other public institutions of business. An atmosphere of gloom 
pervaded the Custom House. 

Collector Merritt was deeply agitated, and when a telegram 
came announcing that the President was sinking, tears started in 
his eyes. He said that he had received many callers, all ten- 
dering the sincerest sympathy for the afflicted family in Wash- 
ington. Consul-Gen eral Archibald, of England, called very soon 
after the news of the assassination had arrived, and expressed 
his own personal sorrow and that of his government, and he 
begged to extend the sympathy of the entire English nation to 
the American people in their great affliction. Among others 
who called during the day were Lieutenant Mitchell, of the 
staff of the Khedive in Egypt; General Anson G. McCook, and 
Congressman A. A. Parker. The Collector said that he did not 
know what would happen in the case of President Garfield's 
death ; it was sad enough to think of his present suffering. He 
had not been invited to attend Mr. Field's reception to the Presi- 
dent, and he knew nothing about Senator Robertson's future 
plans. 

Mr. Thomas C. Acton, chief of the Assay Office, was found 
reading a telegram announcing the President sinking. " This is 
an hour," he said, "when political intrigue and. ambition for 
office should cease." 

" But if the President dies his place must be filled," said a 
reporter of the Herald. 

" Yes ; General Arthur will go in. He has a good head, and 
if he be wise, as I think he is, he will not make many removals. 
The Cabinet will undoubtedly be changed, and Conkling may 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 141 

be placed at the head of the State Department and General 
Grant be made Secretary of War. With Grant in the War 
Office Europe would need no hint to let us alone and treat us 
with unusual courtesy. With Grant as our Minister of War his 
name would command the respect of all the fighting nations of 
Europe. When Grant spoke they would know what was meant, 
and his wishes would be respected. The time for a great states- 
man has arrived, and a real statesman will be very careful about 
making any serious changes in the government. Blaine will 
have to go out ; that is certain. His race at the White House 
is run. The thing to do now is to heal the wounds of the past, 
and leave political feuds to be buried with the politicians." 

AMONG THE BROKERS. 

Rufus Hatch said that the market was necessarily aHected by 
the news, but a change would be of benefit to the country. 
Stocks were from forty to one hundred per cent too high. The 
death of one or twenty men would not seriously affect the coun- 
try, for it was prosperous. " The people and the country," he 
said, " are all right, but these great and sad events teach us a 
great lesson. It is better to be a private citizen than to be Yan- 
derbilt or Jay Gould. We will survive in spite of Communistic 
assassinations. There will be just as much corn and wheat 
raised as there was last year. The effects of the calamity in 
Wall Street cannot be fully known before next week, when we 
shall have returns from Europe. One thing is plainly shown by 
this assassination, and that is that our immigration system needs 
radically changing. So long as the Communists and criminals 
of Europe are allowed to swarm over into this country somebody 
will be sure to get hurt. There should be a change. We need 
to ' bull ' the country and ' bear ' the politicians and swindlers at 
large. Then we shall be all right. In regard to the situation in 
Washington, if the President dies it is safe to say that Vice- 
President Arthur will not slop over. He is not that kind of a 
man, and I am sure he will do about the wise thing. The effect 
of this great event will be to clean out the political stables at 
Albany, and give the country a new ' deal ' all around. Windom 
is in the right place. He has done his work well, and it cannot 
be changed, for the country has already reaped the benefit. 
Sherman will never be put into his place. If any more men are 



142 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

assassinated in this country it will be the railway tings, and I 
am sure that all of them will not die in their beds." 

Mr. Washington Connor was found in his oflBce adjoining 
that of Jay Gould. He said : " The result of this calamity will 
be what Mr. Vanderbilt and other leading operators have been 
striving to accomplish — a decline in the market. They want to 
buy stocks at lower rates ; now they will get them. The only 
change in the government that will affect Wall Street will be a 
change in the Treasury, and I do not believe that General Ar- 
thur will interfere in that department. The administration will 
probably be controlled by Conkling. The country is prosper- 
ous, and the present excitement will not affect the market very 
long. At the end of thirty days fifty million people will forget 
that there has been a change, even if Arthur comes in." 

Mr. A. S. Davis said that while this event may have no polit- 
ical significance — as being the result of the act of a crazy man 
— yet it is a blow at the security of investments. Investors 
have a vivid realization of how quickly their money is liable to 
melt away in case of any unforeseen catastrophe. 

Another prominent broker said that a striking feature of the 
day was the unexpectedness of the terrible news from Wash- 
ington. Its effect on the London market was yet to be deter- 
mined. The general feeling in the street was that it was 
exceedingly fortunate that the sad event occurred when the 
London market was closing, for it would give the people time 
to recover from the paralyzing effects of the first shock, and 
prepare them to meet emergencies. It was regarded as pecul- 
iarly fortunate that the depression would be followed by holi- 
days, so that when the New York market should open on Tues- 
day it would be one day after the opening of the London 
market, and the worst would be known. The holidays would 
prevent American stocks from being returned by cable to depress 
the American markets. 



PRESIDENT QABFIELI>. 143 



ALBAJSTT, N. F., AND ELSEWHERE. 

THE STATE LAW-MAKERS STUPEFIED AND DAZED. 

Senators and Assemblymen Filled with Sorrow and Indignation 
— Speculations upon Changes which may Follow the Presi- 
dents Death. 

Albany. — Like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky fell this morn- 
ing upon the capital the news of the shooting of the President. 
Like a thunderbolt, because for a time it stupefied and dazed 
and then left prostrate in grief all who heard the horrible report. 
Not since that bitter morning in April, 1865, when the country 
was shocked with the news of the death of Lincoln, have the 
people of this city been so aroused or pained. It was about 
9.30 o'clock when a telegraphic despatch was handed to Judge 
Robertson at the Kenmore Hotel announcing that the President 
had been shot. So incredible was the report to him that he 
could not believe it true. At the same time, however, a similar 
despatch was received at the Western Union office, and was im- 
mediately posted on a bulletin. With marvellous speed the 
report was carried from point to point, and before the later de- 
spatches confirming the first had been received the city was in a 
state of painful excitement. Men ran here and there inquiring 
for the news. " Is he dead?" was the question asked a hundred 
times a minute by men and women with blanched faces and wet 
eyes. No one could tell more than the telegraph wires would 
bring, and so the expectancy increased. Throngs surrounded 
the bulletins and lingered along State Street and Broadway in 
the neighborhood of the telegraph office. 

At the hotels, among the politicians, the effect of the report 
was to paralyze and strike dumb. It could not be true — there 
must be some mistake — it was a stock-jobbing story the brief 
despatches that came at 10 o'clock, and after dashing hope to 
the ground filled every heart with irrepressible grief. Senator 
Robertson, leaving his wife, who was terribly affected by the 
news, at the Kenmore, went to room No. 450, at the Delavan, 
occupied by Senators Woodin and Wagner. Into this room 
flocked everybody in search of news, to find it filled with men 
speechless with grief and indignation. Senator Woodin, too 



144 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

much broken to converse, sat with bowed head, looking upon 
the floor. Senator Robertson, calm, yet anxious, conversed with 
Senator Wagner in a hopeful strain, which was scarcely encour- 
aged by the despatches which came from time to time. About 
10.30, when the news came that Dr. Bliss had pronounced the 
President's wounds not fatal, and Senator Robertson read the 
despatch, it affected Senator Woodin so deeply, causing a re- 
action, that he jumped from his seat and then fell in convul- 
sions, while others in the room were violently ill, and many 
strong men wept like children. As the minutes slowly passed 
in the anticipation of good or bad news the excitement became 
more intense. No one could think of anything else. Business 
was practically suspended. At the Kenmore the room of Mrs. 
Robertson was filled with weeping women. The daughter of 
Senator Sessions, who had been much excited by the news, 
swooned several times, and had to be carried away. The sorrow 
and indignation was not confined to Republicans. Democrats 
joined in the general declaration of grief and horror at the assas- 
sination. Ex-Senator Hughes, stopping here for the day, aban- 
doned his business and waited excitedly to hear further tidings* 
He could not find words strong enough to express his indigna- 
tion, and declared that he would have cheerfully put himself in 
the way of the assassin's pistol to shield the country from so ter- 
rible a calamity. 

With reluctance the members tore themselves away from the 
bulletins and telegraph stands to go to the Capitol at 1 1 o'clock, 
where they were unable to attend to business. In the Senate, 
Chaplain Halley alluded to the shooting of the President in his 
opening prayer in very tender words, and the body took a 
recess. The Chaplain of the Assembly also alluded to the hor- 
rible crime that had been committed, and then, at the instance 
of Col. M. C. Murphy, of New York, who denounced the atrocity 
in earnest words, the Assembly took a recess. In both houses all 
despatches received from Washington were read aloud from the 
Clerk's desk. When the two houses dispersed there was again 
a rush to the telegraph office. The bulletins were scanned 
eagerly, yet with dread, for the report was constantly abroad, 
and traceable to no authoritative source, that the President was 
dead. Instead of abating as the day grew, the excitement and 
anxiety to learn the best and the worst increased. From time 
to time extras were issued, and the brief and unsatisfactory 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 145 

tidings they contained were read eagerly. The State offices 
were deserted, and the office-holders crowded the hotels to 
gather up the last information. The crowds in the streets 
talked of nothing else. As the matter became a subject of con- 
versation, it was found that some of the Stalwarts here were not 
receiving the news with the same spontaneous indignation that 
it created among other Republicans and Democrats. Senator 
Hogan, sitting at breakfast with a man whom he describes as a 
prominent Republican politician, spoke of the shooting to the 
Republican, who said, "I don't believe a word of it; it's too 
good to be true." The Senator absolutely refused, when he re- 
peated his statement, to say who made it. His refusal was 
prudent, for in the hot condition of the blood of most men here 
it is altogether probable the man would have been treated 
roughly if he could have been found. 

Gov. Cornell heard of the shooting about 10 o'clock, when he 
reached his office in the old Capitol. He was profoundly 
moved by it, and unable to devote himself to the ordinary busi- 
ness of his office. Gen. Townsend joined him later, with 
Private Secretary Abell. The despatches sent from time to time 
from the Western Union office were anxiously examined. The 
Governor's detestation of the assassin and his sorrow for the de- 
plorable calamity which had befallen the country were expressed 
calmly and with great sincerity. He saw that its effects were to 
be far-reaching, more serious than could be supposed by those 
who merely regarded the loss to the country of its President. 
At noon he sent the following despatch : 

Albany, July 2, 12 m. 

To the Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, 
D. a : 
Please accept for the President my prayerful sympathy and 
earnest hope for his early restoration. Intense feeling exists 
throughout the State, mingled with indignation. 

ALONZO B. CORNELL. 



Senator Robertson continued to receive despatches from 

Washington direct and by way of New York through Chauncey 

M. Depew. The senator, while apparently calm, was deeply 

moved. He had made arrangements to meet President Garfield 

7 



146 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

to-night at Dobbs Ferry on his way to dine with Cyrus W. 
Field. He had not seen him since he was appointed Collector, 
and looked forward to the meeting with great expectations of 
pleasure. He had sent his trunk down the river, and was to 
follow this afternoon. He has now determined to remain in 
Albany. 

About 5.30 o'clock a report was circulated that the President 
was dead. Without waiting to verify the report, preparations 
were made all over the city for draping stores and houses in 
mourning. The Grant Club arranged black and white streamers 
across the front of its rooms, and raised its flag half-mast. 
Several shops in Pearl Street were draped, and flags appeared at 
half-mast on the old Capitol and other buildings. At 6 o'clock 
a despatch from the railroad telegraph office, from which the 
news was said to have originated, was posted in the Delavan, 
and the mourning bands and flags soon after disappeared. 

When the Assembly was called to order at 11 o'clock this 
morning, a painful stillness prevailed in the chamber. A 
gloomy sensation of foreboding and anxiety seemed to hang 
over the scanty throng of representatives present. In the open- 
ing prayer, offered by the clergyman present, a slight allusion 
was made to the attack upon the President, and a fervent wish 
expressed that his wounds would not prove fatal. Then, after 
the reading of the journal, Mr. M. C. Murphy, Democrat, of 
New York, rose and said : 

" Mr. Speaker. — I move you this house take a recess until 
Ave minutes before twelve o'clock. I make this motion because 
of the deplorable 'news that has reached the city of Albany in 
regard to the assassination of the gentleman from Ohio, the 
President of the United States. Mr. Speaker, when we see a 
boy driving two horses on the canal ; when we see that boy 
going along the towpath ; when we see that boy sawing wood 
in college and doing chores for his education ; when we see that 
boy graduating with distinguished honor ; when we see him be- 
come a professor; when we see him go to the defense of his 
country and command a division of troops ; when we see that 
man go to Congress and serve twenty years, a bright star among 
brilliant men ; when we see that man elected to the office that 
is the highest in existence to-day, the President of the United 
States ; wheji we see that man shot down by the hand of an 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 147 

assassin, there is no condemnation too great by Democrats, as 
well as the majority of this house, to give utterance. When we 
see that office disgraced, not the man, because it is the office 
that is disgraced, I say, sir, on the part of the minority of this 
house, that there is nothing at our hands that we are not pre- 
pared to acknowledge and condemn on the part of the vaga- 
bond that was incited or the maniac who attempted it." 

Richmond, Va., July 2, 1881. 
The most intense excitement has prevailed here during the 
day over the intelligence of the attempted assassination of 
President Garfield. When first the rumor was reported it was 
generally discredited ; but on confirmatory despatches being read, 
the public mind began to realize the shocking news, and in a 
short time the whole city seemed moved. Crowds gathered 
rapidly at news centers anxious for particulars, and expressions 
of deep regret at the dire calamity which has befallen the nation 
and condemnations of the dastardly act are general. 

Harrisonburg, Va., July 2, 1881. 
The intelligence of the attempted assassination of the Presi- 
dent creates universal indignation and regret here among all 
classes. 

MoNTGOMERT, Ala., July 2, 1881. 
The attempted assassination of the President causes universal 
sorrow and indignation here. A call has been made for an in- 
dignation meeting, to be held on Monday night. 

Selma, Ala., July 2, 1881. 
The news of the attempt to assassinate the President was re- 
ceived here with the most profound regret. A mass meeting 
called by the chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee, 
the Mayor of the city, our member of Congress, and other promi- 
nent citizens, was held at 6 p.m., and was largely attended. 
Resolutions were passed by a unanimous rising vote, denouncing 
the dastardly act, and expressing the most sincere grief at the 
nation's calamity. 

Atlanta, July 2. — In response to a call issued at noon to- 
day by the Mayor, a large number of the best citizens assembled 
at the Opera House this evening at 4.30 o'clock, to consider ap- 



148 THE AS8A88INATI0N OF 

propriate resolutions concerning the assassination of President 
Garfield. Appropriate resolutions were adopted by a rising 
vote. Speeches were made by Congressman Hammond, Gen- 
eral John B. Gordon, Senator Brown, Chief-Justice James Jack- 
son, and ex-Governor Bullock. 

New Orleans, July 2. — The shooting of President Garfield 
created intense excitement in this city to-day, and was almost 
the only subject discussed. All people condemn the act in the 
strongest terras, and express regret for the President. 

Augusta, Ga., July 2. — This community was thrilled with 
horror, indignation, and disgust on hearing of the shooting of 
President Garfield. All classes bemoan his fate, and express the 
most profound sympathy with the illustrious victim of a cowardly 
crime. 

Nashville, Tenn., July 2. — The community here was shocked 
with news of the shooting of the President, and popular indig- 
nation and abhorrence at the act were universal. Crowds 
gathered about the newspaper offices, and inquiries for news 
were despatched from all parts of the State. 

Raleigh, N. C, July 2. — A public meeting of the citizens 
has been called here to denounce the crime. 

THE SENTIMENT IN BROOKLYN. 

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln did not cause a greater 
thrill through the hearts of the community of the City of 
Churches and homes than was sent from one end of Brooklyn 
to the other upon the announcement of the assassination of 
President Garfield. All factional, all partisan feeling and ani- 
mosities were covered up and lost sight of in the one great ap- 
palling fact that the Chief Magistrate of the United States had 
again fallen at the hands of an assassin. The telegraph offices 
and the local newspaper sanctums were besieged by pale-faced, 
anxious-visaged men of every shade of party complexion and 
diversity of opinion, who could hardly believe the astonishing 
announcement and who sought verification from the best avail- 
able sources. The streets were filled with newsboys selling extra 
Telegrams and other evening papers, and the venders of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 149 

extras realized exorbitant profits in satiating the thirst for further 
details of the national tragedy among the people. 

" I don't know what we are coming to. This is really terri- 
ble," said Mayor Howell. " I opposed the election of Mr. Gar- 
field, but as he was duly elected by the majority I respect him 
as the Chief Magistrate and President of the United States. I 
deeply deplore this terrible occurrence. I have given orders to 
the keeper of the City Hall in the event of the death of the 
President to drape the building with mourning." The Mayor 
also told Captain Dick, Chief of the Bureau of Supplies of the 
Department of City Works, who has immediate supervision of the 
fireworks ordered for the celebration of the Fourth of July, to 
have the public exhibitions postponed until some future occasion 
should the President die. The Mayor said the assassin should 
be hanged. If he was crazy they should hang him twice. 

" It's shocking," said General Jourdan, Commissioner of Police 
and Excise and major general commanding the Second division 
of the National Guard. " I can think of no other means of ex- 
pressing what I feel. Garfield would have made a good Presi- 
dent. Should the President die Arthur would make a good 
President. The country would go on the same." 

Collector of Taxes and Assessments, " Corporal " James Tan- 
ner, said : " It is terrible ! It is terrible ! It is the act of a 
lunatic." 

General Isaac Catlin, the District Attorney of Kings county, 
said he was thoroughly overcome by the news of the shooting. 

Commissioner of City Works, John French, said that no sane 
person would, he thought, recklessly shoot so good a man as 
President Garfield. 

Police Justice Walsh, democrat, said : " Garfield was a better 
man for the business interests of the nation than Arthur, who 
will succeed him, ever can be." 

A few minutes before five o'clock mourning streamers were 
displayed from the half-masted flags on the roof of the Citv 
Hall. 

The keepers of the County Court House and Municipal Build- 
ing displayed flags at half-mast. Ex-Sheriff Dagget's head- 
quarters, corner of Montague and Court Streets, displayed the 
flag looped with crape. From many private residences through- 
out the city the colors were also half-masted. 



150 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Mayor Howell sent the following communication to General 
Jourdan : 

General James Jourdan^ Commissioner of Police and Excise : 

Dear Sir — The murderous assault upon the President of the 
United States has deeply excited the public mind, and to such 
an extent that it is not improbable that disturbances of the peace 
of this community may ensue. In view of the condition of 
things I have to request that you direct instructions to the cap- 
tains of the several police precincts to exercise the greatest 
vigilance, and the whole force of the department be held in 
readiness in case of any outbreak. I would also suggest that 
the military under your command be notified and be prepared 
to execute your orders at any moment. Very respectfully 
yours, JAMES HOWELL, 

Ma'i/or. 

Police Superintendent Campbell, in accordance with instruc- 
tions from the Commissioner, issued an order to the captains 
impressing them with the necessity of exercising the utmost 
vigilance. 

THE NEWS IN PHILADELPHIA. 

Philadelphia, July 2, 1881. — The first intimation of the shoot- 
ing of President Garfield was received over the private wire of a 
Third Street banking house about ten o'clock, but it was only a few 
minutes until bulletins were posted at all the newspaper oflSces on 
Chestnut Street, and for a time all business was practically sus- 
pended. The news spread with the wind, as it seemed, and long 
before any extra editions of the afternoon journals were on the 
street the terrible intelligence had reached the extreme limits of the 
business portion of Philadelphia. Great crowds at once gathered 
about the newspaper oflSces, and the bulletins there displayed were 
eagerly scanned and commented upon. When, about two o'clock, 
the bulletins began to indicate unfavorable symptoms the effect 
upon the crowds of people was to greatly increase the growing hor- 
ror. All the previously wild discussion as to the instigators, or the 
criminal's motive, were hushed, and the people stood, with pain- 
ful anxiety evident on every face, waiting to read the half-hourly 
bulletins which were sent out from the dying (?) President's 
chamber at the White House. The expression, " Isn't it horri- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 151 

ble ? " was heard on every hand. One man in the crowd in 
front of the Times office said solemnly, " The scarlet circle of 
the king killers has been extended to the United States." This 
was anent the announcement that Guiteau was known to be a 
prominent member of the socialist societies in Chicago. " Yes," 
said a prominent judge as he read the latest bulletin, while hear- 
ing the words of the man at his elbow, " yes, the revolt of the 
Proletariat has begun among us." It would be worse than idle 
and unjust to repeat the gossip and the violent opinions expressed 
by the thousands of people who jostled each other about the 
various news centres. 

SORROW AT TRENTON. 

Trenton, N. J., July 2, 1881. — The attempted assassination 
of President Garfield has caused a feeling of consternation, hor- 
ror, and sorrow among all classes here, and the city is over 
shadowed with gloom. Excitement runs high and the streets 
are crowded with people, the telegraph bulletin boards being 
besieged. Every one prays that the President may recover. 

HE NEWS IN THE SENATE. 

The Senate met at half-past eleven o'clock, and was called to 
order by president pro tern. Robertson amid manifestations of 
deep feeling. 

Rev. Dr. Halley offered up the following pathetic prayer : 
" Almighty God ! We have been summoned to this Senate 
chamber after hearing the startling and melancholy intelligence 
that the President of the United States has been shot by the 
hand of an assassin. But a few months have elapsed since we 
read of the ceremonies of his inauguration to this high office and 
of the interesting scenes connected with his installation, sur- 
rounded by the great men of the country, and the foreign am- 
bassadors, in emblazoned robes, cheerfully paying to him their 
homage of respect and love. The lesson teaches us of tlie in- 
security of human life, and we pray Thee, Almighty God, that 
Thou wilt spare him, that he may recover his health, that his 
sun may not yet go down, that those who may have been instru- 
mental in concocting so diabolical a crime may be frustrated in 
their hopes, and that the stability of our institutions may be 



152 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

preserved. We know that the best medical staff will be called 
into exercise in order to afford every remedy whereby this calam- 
ity may be Femedied. Forbid, Almighty God, that the President 
should be thus cut down in the maturity of his manhood, and 
we pray Thee that whilst thou didst bring him so near the gates 
of death that Thou wilt raise him up and make him an instru- 
ment of blessing to thousands ; and we pray Thee that Thou 
wilt arrest the progress of vice and crime in our midst. We 
pray Thee that we will not be further compelled to read in the 
public prints of unholy familiarity with crime, and we pray that 
stringent measures may be employed to support the dignity of 
the law and prevent a repetition of these crimes that are every 
day startling the public, wounding the heart, and carrying grief 
and desolation into families. Do Thou ever watch over us, and 
may all these dispensations of Providence teach us to lean more 
and more upon Thee. Pardon our sins and bless us for Christ's 
sake. Amen." 

Immediately after the reading of the journal the Clerk read 
from the desk an Associated Press despatch and a private de- 
spatch to Senator Wagner, briefly conveying the latest informa- 
tion obtainable. 

Senator Halbert then offered the following : 

Whereas, the Senate of the State of New York has learned 
with profound sorrow of the attempted assassination of the 
President of the United States ; therefore 

Resolved, that we tender our heartfelt sympathy to the Presi- 
dent and, his family, and at the same time express our horror and 
indignation at the atrocious attempt made upon his life. 

Senator McCarthy said : 

Mr. President — While I agree in much of that resolution, 
and am willing to express indignation and horror and all the 
feeling that the heart is capable of expressing on a matter of 
this kind, I hardly feel at liberty to offer condolence or sympathy 
until I learn what the result of this shall be. I have no idea of 
objecting to this resolution. I hope that nothing will occur at 
the White House, at any time in the near future, that will make 
it necessary to offer any further resolution on this subject. 

The resolution was agreed to. 

Senator Mills, in view of the great calamity that had fallen 
on the country, moved a recess until five minutes of twelve 
o'clock. A recess was taken. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 153 

During the intermission tlie senators gathered in an excited 
group in front of the Clerk's desk and Hstened to the reading of 
the Associated Press despatches, in which they manifested intense 
interest. 

Immediately on returning from the joint assembly the Senate 
adjourned to ten minutes before twelve o'clock on Monday 
morning. 

Despatches having been received here at about half -past four 
P.M. announcing the death of the President, Mayor Nolan 
ordered the fire-alarm bells tolled. The cathedral chimes 
were also tolled on the minor chords. All the public buildings 
had their flags lowered to half-mast, and a number of stores 
were draped in mourning. An air of sadness pervades the en- 
tire city, and there is a strong feeling among all classes. Both 
political parties join in reprobation of the act. 

NEWPORT, R. I. 

The attempt to assassinate the President has been the absorb- 
ing topic of conversation throughout this city and State. As 
previously stated in the Herald^ a monster celebration of the 
Fourth of July had been determined upon by this municipality. 
It has now been decided, notwithstanding the expense to which 
the city has been put, to forego the festivities of the day in view 
of the probable death of the President. The celebration at 
Bristol will also be postponed. Newport's celebration, with the 
aid of the summer residents, promised to be one of the finest 
ever held in the State. 

LOUISVILLE, KY. 

There is considerable excitement here over the news of the 
attempted assassination of President Garfield, and great anxiety 
is manifested to hear from Washington and New York. The 
impression is that the outlook for the country, and for the 
South especially, would be very much less bright with Arthur 
than with Garfield in the Presidential chair ; but there is no an- 
ticipation of any serious trouble in any event. Much sympathy 
is expressed for President Garfield and his family. At the 
Board of Trade a resolution was adopted expressing abhorrence 
of the attempted murder, and proffering the sympathy of the 
Board to President Garfield's family and to the country. The 



154 TniJ ASSASStNATtON OF 

resolution was telegraphed to the Secretary of State at Wash- 
ington. 

RALEIGH, N. C. 

There is great indignation here at the attempted assassination 
of the President. A public meeting of the citizens has been 
called to denounce it. 

CHARLESTON, S. C. 

The news of the assassination of President Garfield excited 
universal grief and horror in Charleston. The sorrow felt by 
the community is seen on the faces of all classes. Hope is 
everywhere expressed that he will soon recover. The Chamber 
of Commerce held a large meeting at two o'clock. Addresses 
were made declaring sentiments of sorrow, condemning the act 
of the assassin as the deepest crime, expressing the wish that 
the President will soon be restored to the people of the 
United States, to whom he is so dear, without regard to politi- 
cal opinions, and declaring to the President and his family 
the sympathy of the people of Charleston with them in their 
affliction. 

NASHVILLE, TENN. 

The community was shocked at the news of the attempted 
assassination of the President, and popular indignation and ab- 
horrence at the act are universal. Great anxiety is felt to hear 
tidings of the wounded President's condition, and expressions 
of sympathy and hope for his ultimate recovery are heard every- 
where. Crowds are gathered about the newspaper offices, 
and inquiries for news are despatched from all parts of the 
State. 

BALTIMORE, MD. 

The most intense excitement prevails throughout this city at 
the attempted assassination of President Garfield. All business 
is suspended, and groups of men are assembled on every street 
dumbfounded, anxiously and fearfully awaiting the result. 
Around the newspaper offices, about Baltimore and South 
streets, the sidewalks and streets are blocked by crowds of men. 
The papers are issuing bulletins every half hour. There is a 
universal expression of sorrow and indignation. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 155 



LITTLE ROCK, ARK. 

The news of the assassination of President Garfield created 
intense excitement, and a feeling of universal horror was ex- 
pressed for the atrocious act. The greatest sympathy is ex- 
pressed for the President. Mayor Kramer called a meeting of 
citizens this evening to take suitable action in reference to the 
calamity. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. 

There was intense indignation here this morning upon the 
receipt of the news of the attempted assassination of President 
Garfield. A call is out for an indignation meeting to-night, and 
is signed mostly by Confederate soldiers. 

WILMINGTON, N. C. 

The news of the shooting of President Garfield was received 
here with a universal expression of horror and regret. The act 
is severely denounced, and the President's early recovery is ear- 
nestly hoped for by all classes. 

NEW ORLEANS, LA. 

The news of the attempted assassination of President Gar- 
field created intense excitement in this city, and is almost the 
only subject discussed. All condemn the act in the strongest 
terms, and express sympathy for the President and hope for his 
speedy recovery. 

Buffalo, N. Y., July 2. — The reported assassination of 
President Garfield created the most intense excitement in this 
city this morning. All political differences are for the time for- 
gotten, and a universal expression of sorrow, coupled with a 
loud call for vengeance upon his would-be murderer, prevails 
everywhere. All business for a time was almost entirely sus- 
pended, and the people were gathered upon the street corners 
discussing the affair. 

The Commercial Advertiser (Republican), alludes to the 
assassination, in substance, as follows: "In the height of a crisis 
like this the pen falters, and it is hard to describe the effect of 
such startling news upon the people of a great nation. The 



156 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

despatches from every part of the country report that the excite- 
ment has been without precedent or parallel since the hour 
when the name of Lincoln was placed upon the roll of the 
martyred dead. Business is suspended. Men have little thought 
or care for the affairs of every-day life when they know that an 
assassin has aimed at the head of the national Government. 
But the calamity has revealed the firm hold that President Gar- 
field has upon the esteem and affection of his fellow-citizens. 
That he may be spared and restored to the vigorous health that 
has been his blessing is the prayer that ascends to the great 
Ruler of nations from the millions of people in this vast Repub- 
lic. James A. Garfield, if he lives, will learn, after the trial to 
which he is now subjected, how sincerely he is respected by the 
people who so recently placed him in the highest office of their 
Government. There are no political lines now when a nation 
is shocked by the reports of assassination, and mourns, with 
loved ones and loving wife, who are gathered by the beside of 
a wise father, a kind husband, and a faithful son. There are 
distinctions of persons in this great nation at such a time for all 
who are Americans by birth, or by adoption, who cry out 
against a crime so heinous, and their hearts turn towards the 
victim of so foul a wrong." 

THE NEWS IN PITTSBURG. 

Pittsburg, Penn., July 2. — The news of the attempted 
assassination of President Garfield has paralyzed business. 
Intense excitement prevails, and the streets are crowded with 
people waiting anxiously for news. 

Lansing, Mich., July 2. — On receiving the news of the 
attempted assassination of President Garfield the Greenback 
camp-meeting, now in session here, unanimously adopted the 
following declaration : 

Whereas, The telegraph informs us that an assassin has this 
day made an attempt on the life of the President of the United 
States, therefore we, representatives of the National Greenback 
party of the Union, take this occasion to deplore and condemn 
the second attempt to deprive our Republic of its legitimate 
head, and we demand that all the power of the Government be 
put in force to punish this and all such acts of violence and 
violations of law. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 157 



DENOUNCING AN ATROCIOUS DEED. 

Little Rock, July 2. — The news of the assassination of 
President Garfield created intense excitement, and a feeling of 
universal horror was expressed for the atrocious act. The great- 
est sympathy is manifested for the President. Mayor Kramer 
called a meeting of citizens this evening to take suitable action 
in reference to the calamity. 

EXECRATION FOR THE ASSASSIN. 

Savannah, Ga., July 2. — Despatches briefly announcing that 
President Garfield had been shot, but giving no particulars, 
were received here at 10.30 o'clock this morning. The news 
created a profound sensation throughout the city, and words 
of execration for the assassin and deep sympathy for the victim 
were on every lip. In its first extra edition containing the sad 
intelligence, the News said : " The event in itself is astounding 
and deplorable in the extreme, but its significance depends much 
upon the character of the assassin and the motive which 
prompted the murderous act. If it should prove to be like the 
attempt on the life of President Jackson in 1834 — merely the 
irresponsible act of a madman — it will be deplored as a national 
calamity. 

WiLLiAMSTOwN, Mass., July 2. — The news of the attempted 
assassination of President Garfield created high excitement here, 
not only because of his being a Williams alumnus, but particu- 
larly from his intention of attending commencement exercises. 
Every arrangement had been made for his coming, and when 
first the news reached here the telegraph office was crowded 
with excited students and professors, with President Chadbourne 
at their head. The report has got out that there will be no 
commencement in consequence of the shooting. President 
Chadbourne says that unless Mr. Garfield dies the exercises will 
proceed in regular order. No changes are to be made until the 
trustees' meeting on Monday. Meanwhile a feeling of deep sad- 
ness prevails in the town and college. 

Cincinnati, July 2. — The feeling in Cincinnati is one of 
mingled grief and rage in reference to the shooting of President 
Garfield. The cooler heads counsel moderation. Groups of 



158 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

people gather everywhere and make the awful event the only 
topic of conversation. The outcry against tlie leniency of com- 
munities towards crimes against persons as breeding the spirit of 
murder is everywhere emphatic and outspoken. The hope that 
the President will survive, coupled with the fear that he Tvill 
not, adds suspense to the excitement and intensifies it. 

Indianapolis, July 2, 1881. 
The news of the attempted assassination of President Garfield 
created intense excitement, and for a time business was sus- 
pended and crowds thronged about the telegraph and newspa- 
per ofiices. As the news comes in this afternoon of the Presi- 
dent's unfavorable condition, expressions of sorrow are heard 
from all. Telegrams from all parts of the State are coming in 
rapidly, asking for the latest news from the President, and indi- 
cate great anxiety all over the State. 

Chicago, III., July 2, 1881. 
The excitement here caused by the news of the attempted 
murder of the President is very intense. Nothing since the 
death of Lincoln has so stirred the populace. On its first an- 
nouncement, business was at once suspended, and everybody 
hurried into the street to learn the latest particulars. 

Boston, Mass., July 2, 1881. 
The news of the attempted assassination of the President 
caused the most intense excitement in this city, and crowds sur- 
rounded the newspaper offices, all of which have issued extras. 
In the early part of the morning, business was temporarily sus- 
pended on every hand. The later favorable news that the 
President was not dead in a measure quelled the excitement. 

Pittsburg, Pa., July 2, 1881. 
The news of the attempted assassination of President Gar- 
field has paralyzed business. Intense excitement prevails, and 
the streets are crowded with people waiting anxiously for news. 

Bridgeport, Conn., July 2, 1881. 
The assassination of President Garfield has cast a gloom over 
the city. Business is entirely suspended, and the telegraph 



PRESIDENT OARFIELL. 159 

and newspaper offices are surrounded by crowds of excited 
people. 

Portland, Me., July 2, 1881. 

Mayor Senter telegraphs to Secretary Blaine as follows: 
" Grief is felt here at the President's condition, and all citizens 
unite in earnest hopes for his recovery. They would regard his 
death as a most grievous public calamity." 

Great excitement and feeling prevail, and business is almost 
suspended. Crowds of people hang about the bulletin boards. 

St. Albans, July 2, 1881. 

Perhaps in no place in New England could the news of the 
attempted assassination of President Garfield have created a 
more profound impression than at St. Albans. The anticipated 
visit of the President during the meeting of the Teachers' In- 
stitute has been looked forward to by our people with cordial 
satisfaction, and the most extensive preparations had been made 
for the entertainment of himself and the party who were to ac- 
company him. The announcement of the dastardly attempt 
upon his life was received with universal expressions of in- 
credulity. The confirmation of the report created most pro- 
found indignation. Business was entirely suspended, and the 
utmost bewilderment pervaded the community. Governor Farn- 
ham has been in constant communication with Colonel Childs, 
chief of staff, under whose supervision the arrangements for the 
reception of the President were made, and this evening orders 
were issued revoking former instructions to the staff. The Gov- 
ernor has also forwarded to the Secretary of State at Washing- 
ton the expression of his profound sympathy and regret. 

Louisville, Ky., July 2. — There is much excitement here over 
the news of the attempted assassination of President Garfield, 
and great anxiety is manifested to hear from Washington and 
New York. The impression is that the outlook for the coun- 
try, and for the South especially, would be very much less bright 
with Arthur than with Garfield in the presidential chair, but 
there is no anticipation of any serious trouble in any eventv 
Much sympathy is expressed for President Garfield and his fam- 
ily. Business to-day is rather more quiet, but not to any ex- 
tent disturbed. At the meeting on 'Change at the Board of 
Trade to-day the following was adopted and telegraphed to 
Washington : 



160 THE ASSASSINATION OP 

Louisville, July 2. 

Secretary of State, Washington : 

The Board of Trade of Louisville expresses its abhorrence of 
the attempted assassination of the President, and proffers its 
sympathy to his family and the country, with the earnest hope 
for his recovery. JOHN E. GREEN, 

President. 

SORROW IN INDIANAPOLIS. 

Indianapolis, July 2. — The news of the attempted assassina- 
tion of President Garfield created intense excitement, and for a 
time business was suspended and crowds thronged about the 
telegraph and newspaper offices. As the news comes in this 
afternoon of the President's unfavorable condition, expressions 
of sorrow are heard from all. Telegrams from all parts of the 
State are coming in rapidly, asking for the latest news from the 
President, and indicate great anxiety all over the State. 

WiLLiAMSTOWN, Mass., July 2. — The news of the attempted 
assassination of President Garfield created high excitement here, 
not only because of his being a Williams alumnus, but particu- 
larly from his intention of attending commencement exercises. 
Every arrangement had been made for his coming, and when 
first the news reached here the telegraph office was crowded 
with excited students and professors, with President Chad- 
bourne at their head. The report has got out that there will 
be no commencement in consequence of the shooting. Presi- 
dent Chadbourne says that, unless the President should die, the 
exercises will proceed in regular order. No changes are to be 
made until the trustee meeting, on Monday. Meanwhile a feel- 
ing of deep sadness prevails in the town and college. 

NASHVILLE DEEPLY SHOCKED. 

Nashville, Tenn., July 2. — The community was shocked at 
the news of the attempted assassination of the President, and 
popular indignation and abhorrence at the act are universal. 
Great anxiety is felt to hear tidings of the wounded President's 
condition, and expressions of sympathy and hope for his ulti- 
mate recovery are heard everywhere. Crowds are gathered 
about the newspaper offices, and inquiries for news are despatched 
from all parts of the State. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 161 



HOPES AND FEARS IN ROCHESTER. 

Rochester, July 2. — The feeling in this city over the at- 
tempt on the President's life is intense in the highest degree, re- 
calling the sad scenes of the death of Lincoln. There is no thought 
uppennost in the public mind except the one of the immeasur- 
able injury that has been done public security by such an out- 
rageous violation of the rights of official life. There is no 
disposition among decent and common-sense thinkers to attach 
any political significance to the inception and execution of the 
deed, although no one denies that the consequential political 
circumstances are somewhat uncertain and unsettling. Mr. Gar- 
field was exceedingly popular in western New York, and the 
best that can be hoped for the land if he shall die is that power 
and responsibility will make his constitutional successor fit to 
wear his mantle. At this writing the fate of the Executive is 
still undecided, but the people are hoping faintly against strong 
fears. The Rochester Union (Democrat), commenting, says : 
" While the life of no man is necessary to the administration of 
our Government or the stability of our institutions, the taking 
off of the Chief Magistrate by violence at any time or under any 
circumstances would be a great public calamity. More especially 
would that be the case now, in the anomalous political situation 
that exists. Ordinarily, the country is the witness of party 
feeling between the two great parties running high. Now it is 
a feud in the party of the Administration, the President at the 
head of one faction, and the Vice-President at the head of 
another, that forces itself upon the unwilling attention of the 
people. The succession of the latter to the Presidency in case 
of the decease of the former would produce more of a jar than 
a change of Administration as the result of a regular party con- 
test, and is not to be desired. President Garfield's recovery is 
devoutly to be wished." 

The Rochester Express (Republican) says: "The political 
consequences that would result from President Garfield's decease 
would be serious, but need not now be considered. The inex- 
cusable neglect of Congress in not providing, as usual, for the 
succession if both President and Vice-President should die, will 
now be forcibly brought to mind. Our approaching national 
anniversary will be spent in despondency and sadness, unless en- 



16^ THE ASSASSINATION OF 

couraging intelligence from Washington shall before then roll 
over the land like a wave of gladness. To-morrow will be the 
most remarkable Sabbath that our people have ever known. It 
will be most emphatically a day of prayer. Persons who have 
never believed in Providential interference will hope now that 
there is something in the doctrine, and that an arm stronger 
than that of man may be outstretched for our deliverance from 
this impending disaster." 

HARTFORD, CONN. 

The first news of the shooting of President Garfield caused 
an excitement like that which followed the news of the 
assassination of Lincoln, sixteen years ago. Small groups of 
men gathered around the bulletins, and, as if blown by the 
wind, the news spread far and wide, and the little groups grew 
to thousands of people that, upon busy corners and near the 
mercantile marts, blocked the way and left no thoroughfares. 
There was a pretence of carrying on business as usual, but it was 
done only in a half-hearted way, for the people were completely 
absorbed in the unusual event of the morning, and trade and 
commerce were ignored for the time. The news was at first 
generally disbelieved, and it was only when the second and third 
despatches were bulletined that the first incredulity gave way to 
reluctant belief. On a corner a group of men were discussing 
the news, and one suggested that there was one important omis- 
sion, and that there should have been a despatch announcing the 
death of the assassin soon after the shooting. Among the brokers 
there was no special disturbance. Stocks were slightly affected, 
but there were no orders to sell, and the recovery in quotations 
was prompt. Several persons here, among them ex-Gov. Jewell, 
have known the assassin thoroughly, and speak of him as a man 
of unsound mind. They agree in his craving for notoriety at 
any price, and as to the extravagant claims he made for himself, 
and his greed for office that was absurdly beyond his powers. 

RALEIGH, N. 0. 

There is great excitement here over the news of the shooting 
of President Garfield. An indignation meeting has been called 
for 8.30 o'clock to-night, and will be addressed by leading men 
without regard to party. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 163 



N. J. 

The news of the shooting of President Garfield was received 
here with incredulity at first, but when the intelligence was con- 
firmed there was a profound feeling of sorrow and shame that 
this disgrace and misfortune should for a second time fall upon 
the nation. The city had been preparing for the coming cele- 
bration of the national holiday, and the sudden change from 
l)uoyant hope and confidence in the general prosperity and hap- 
piness of the country caused a deep revulsion in the popular 
mind. Everywhere people go about with lengthened faces, 
anxiously inquiring as to the latest reported condition of the 
President, and sadly speculating at the probable outcome of this 
terrible affair. Republicans and Democrats alike are profoundly 
disturbed at the probable accession to the Presidency of Vice- 
President Arthur, with the consequence that ConMing shall be 
the President de facto, and a general revolution in every depart- 
ment of the Administration. People of all parties were just 
looking forward to an era of prosperity and of sound adminis- 
tration under President Garfield, and the disaster has produced 
a terrible shock to all. There were many who felt intensely 
dissatisfied that the indignant crowd in Washington was not 
permitted to wreak summary vengeance on the assassin of the 
President. Many declared that the proper disposition of him 
would have been to have held him under the grinding wheels 
of the railroad train which was to have carried President Gar- 
field away, and to have thus ground him to mince-meat. While 
it seems incredible that a sane man could have done so desperate 
and utterly inexcusable a deed, the feeling is quite general that 
it would be best to execute him first, and try the question of his 
sanity afterwards. 

ATLANTA, GA. 

Gen. Toombs was in the telegraph oflSce when the first tele- 
gram of the shooting of President Garfield came. He walked 
to the hotel and spread the news, which created a sensation such 
as has been seldom known in the history of Atlanta. All deeply 
deplored the sad intelligence. Mayor English called a meeting, 
and, on two hours' notice, over a thousand of the best people in 
the city had gathered. Gov. Colquitt presided, and spoke feel- 



164 THE A88A88INATI0N OF 

ingly of the public calamity. Congressman Hammond presented 
tlie following resolutions in a speech expressing the sympathy of 
the people : 

Resolved, That we, as citizens of Atlanta, received the tele- 
graphic announcement of the shooting of James A. Garfield, 
President of the United States, this morning, with the pro- 
foundest regret and horror. 

Resolved, That to him and his family we tender our deepest 
sympathy in their afiliction. 

Resolved, That we join with all in the prayer that his life 
may be spared for the discharge of the duties of the high office 
to which he was elected. 

Ex-Senator Gordon, Senator Brown, ex-Governor Bullock, 
Chief-Justice Jackson, and others spoke, and the resolutions 
were adopted by a unanimous rising vote. Gov. Colquitt sent a 
telegram in behalf of the people of Georgia, expressing their 
sympathy and prayers for the President's recovery. Senator 
Hill was kept from the meeting by sickness, but says he heartily 
sympathized with it and is deeply saddened at the news. Justice 
Woods, of the Supreme Court, says he is thankful it cannot 
be contorted into political significance. Bob Toombs says it is 
a great calamity, and will degrade the morals of the people. 

VICKSBURG, MISS. 

The first news of the President's assassination was received by 
way of New Orleans, the Commercial announcing on its bulletin 
board that such a report had been received by the New Orleans 
press. No credence was at first given to the report, and its con- 
firmation by a special to the Herald from Washington was 
received with horror. The noon despatches, which gave an idea 
of slight danger, were joyfully received, and not until the later 
despatches announced the President's almost hopeless condition 
did people realize the terrible extent of the crime. The call, 
through the Evening Commercial, for a mass meeting was nobly 
responded to. The Rev. C. K. Marshall was called to the chair. 
A short prayer was then offered by the Rev. C. B. Galloway for 
the recovery of the President, and invoking the aid of God to 
quell the passions of the people in this enlightened age, and 
render the value of human life greater than it now seems to be. 
Mr. Marshall addressed the meeting, and in a very affecting 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 165 

manner reflected the sorrow of the whole community. The fol- 
lowing resolutions were adopted : 

Whereas, Our free Government, resting on the consent of 
the governed, was founded by our fathers to maintain life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; 

Whereas, The peace, safety, and life of our Government, our 
families, ourselves, and all we hold sacred and dear depend on 
the preservation of law and order ; 

Whereas, Murder in its most vicious form is that which is 
committed by the assassin's hand, and 

Whereas, We have heard with horror that a cowardly assassin 
has attempted to take the life of the President of the United 
States — therefore, be it 

Resolved, That we, the people of Vicksburg, Miss., without 
regard to race, color, or condition, condemn the act of the 
assassin who attempted to-day to take the life of James A. Gar- 
field, President of the United States, as a base and cowardly 
deed, subversive of our Government, destructive to the peace 
and order of society, repugnant to the laws and to the sense of 
the whole civilized world. 

Resolved, That we offer our condolence to the nation for the 
calamity which has befallen us, and our heartfelt sympathies to 
the stricken members of his family. 

THE FEELING IN OHIO. 

INTENSE EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT THE STATE COMMENTS OF 

THE PRESS. 

Columbus, O., Juiy 3. — The intense excitement throughout 
the State has not diminished in the least, and thousands have 
crowded around the bulletin boards and telegraph offices during 
the entire day. Governor Foster has been in the Executive 
office during the day receiving and sending despatches to nearly 
every part of the State. In accordance with the proclamation 
of the Governor, Mayor Peters has issued a request that the 
recommendations be fully carried out. The proclamation was 
J-ead from the pulpits to-night in all the principal cities and 
towns in the State, and it is probable that divine service will be 
held in the morning by all denominations. The following is a 
double-leaded editorial from the Times, Democratic Qrgan, and 
receives the unqualified approval of every one : 



166 TBE ASSAS^IXATIOy OF 

It would be t4X» mon$ti\>ns for human belief to thinlc tbai 
any Ss^iie man could have a no^Me motive, oiiher politioiU or 
pergonal, for the nuinier of James A. Garfield, a mau of noble 
.-iiui lofty oharaoter, of biw^d and liberal viewsi, of the most 
coni.'il persional deportment and beAriug. His very warmest 
pers^onsJ friends were his most radical politic'U opponents. His 
political! antai^onism bred no personal jinimosities. If disap- 
pointment in search of office led to this diabolical crime, then, 
indeed, the country needs a cessation of professional othce- 
holdiuir. The attempted assassination of Vivsident Jackson 
years a^ro by a lunatic had been for^jotten, when the villainous 
iiand of John AVilkes Booth sent President Lincoln to a pre- 
mature grave. Nothing since the death of Lincoln has so 
shocked and amaxed the country as the .assault upon IVesideni 
Garfield. It is a crime too monstrous to discuss with modera- 
tion so sov->n after its perpetration. The speedy arrest of the 
assassin but ill compensj^tes for the blow struck .at the public 
welfare. The country hoped much and had reason to hope 
much from l>esident GiirfieJd's great natural ability and ac- 
knowleiigcd statesmanship. The f.actionjil fight in his party 
boded no evil to the country, but rather good. The fate of 
:he Republic does not depend upon parties; it will survive them 
all. and still stand the wonder and admiration of the world. 
Its fate will not depend upon the life of President Garfield, 
although the conntry will sadly miss his services, now that it is 
entering upon the n.>ad to prosperity which he did his share in 
shaping. Many foolish persons on the streets insist that the 
empire alone would save the country. Shame! shame! Sacri- 
lege at the very doors of death, and in the vestibule of the 
nation's temple of woe ! If the ass:\ssin would seek the Ufe of 
a m.an of such grand human traits as James A. Garfield, a 
thousand assassins would stand ready to slay a tyrant. Ko, no, 
the empire will not come. The death of the President will 
not take the life of the Republic, It will live on, supported by 
the love and the loyalty of the people; and while the people mourn 
for the dead, they will remember and emulate his many virtues, 
while they will bury in oblivion whatever of faults he may have 
had. Twice have we been called upon to write of the assassi- 
nation of the n.ation's Chief M;igistrate. "NVe are too heart-sick 
TO follow up the subject, to comment upon this most unpro- 
voked and yp^^^t unexpected atrocity. AVe refer our readers to 



PREHTDENT GARFTELD. 1^7 

tlio terrihle details olsewhorc. To Mrs. Garfield a nation's deep 
Byrnpathy will he unstintinr/ly extended. 

The Ohio State Jwirnal^ in a carefully considered article, 
will Hay: 

We have neither time, space, nor inclination to speak at 
lenrrth of these causes at present. Suffice it to say that they 
are almost wholly un-American and must be destroyed, root and 
branch, if this Republic is to live, and if liberty is to have an 
ahidinf^ place on the footstool of the Creator. We are unpre- 
pared to adopt any of the theories which have been advanced 
to account for Guiteau's crime. We prefer to wait for the 
facts. It may be the result of a conspiracy on the part of a fac- 
tion to seize the control of the Government, for the purpose of 
rewarding its friends and punishing its enemies; but we are con- 
strained to say that that theory strikes us as incredible, and the 
evidences to support it are insufficient. It rnay be that criminals, 
driven to the wall, driven to desperation, and seeing no hope of 
escape save through a change of administration, conspired to- 
gether to compass the death of the President, and furnished 
this medium with the means and fortified him with the motives 
of gaining an infamous immortality. No one, however, should 
jump to that conclusion, for the proofs are lacking. It may be 
that men in office and men who expect office in certain contin- 
gencies, men who expected to be dismissed by the present Ad- 
ministration, or installed in office in the event of a change, have 
egged on this crazy villain to murder the President, but up to 
this writing there are not sufficient facts upon which to base 
such a conclusion. In our judgment, too much stress is laid 
on Guiteau's alleged insanity. If insane at all he is insane 
in the sense that murderers are and thousands of enthusiasts 
who can entertain but one idea at a time are insane. In that 
sense no sane man ever committed murder. A man who can 
[)lan a murder, provide himself with implements of death, and 
so time his movements as to make sure of his work and prob- 
ably escape, is sane enough to be put to death, and the law is 
sadly defective in that it does not prescribe the same penalty 
for an attempt to kill that it does in the event of success. This 
plea of insanity has been pressed too far, and lawyers and 
'•ourts ought to understand by this time that the people are 
growing wonderfully restive and impatient because of it. The 
successful interposition of that plea is the cause of more law- 



168 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

lessness, mobs, lynchings, and murders than any other one thing 
known in America. Though necessarily alarmed and indignant, 
the American people can afford to keep cool, for in the lan- 
guage of President Garfield, used upon the occasion of the mur- 
der of one of his predecessors, *' God reigns and the Govern- 
ment at Washington still exists. No assassin can destroy thp'^ 
Government so long as the love of liberty and law has a home 
in the hearts of the American people." 

Boston, Mass., July 4, 1881. 

The following despatch was sent from the Israelites of Boston 
to-day : 

New Era Hall, July 4, 1881. 
Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. : 

The Israelites of Boston, in convention assembled, extend 
their heartfelt sympathy for President Garfield and their intense 
indignation at the outrage committed on our honored Executive. 
Convey our profound sorrow and tenderest sympathy to Mrs. 
Garfield and family. Our prayers are fervently offered that the 
President may recover and live to fulfil the promise of his grand 
career at the helm of our beloved country. 

Edward S. Goulston, chairman ; Charles Morse, Israel Cohn 
and Isaac Rosnosky, committee. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, July 4, 1881. 
A Sabbath stillness characterized the city to-day. Prayer- 
meetings were held at noon in several churches, and many prayer- 
meetings will be held to-night. The Western Union Telegraph 
Company is using its wires without intermission both night and 
day, the entire force of operators being employed to the extent 
of their endurance in working extra time. The old men and 
women of the Cincinnati Pioneer Association to-day sent a letter 
of condolence to Mrs. Eliza Garfield, mother of the President, 
and a similar message to the wife of the President. 

Newport, R I., July 4, 1881. 
A public meeting to express sympathy for the President and 
his wife was held here to-day in Zion Episcopal Church, where 
the leading citizens of the place assembled. Stirring addresses 
were made. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 169 

Springfield, III., July 4, 1881. 
Governor CuUom had an appointment to address the people of 
Lake county to-day, but in view of the condition of the Presi- 
dent he instead issued a letter, in which he says : " While the 
Chief Magistrate of the nation lies upon a bed of pain, and per^ 
haps of death, it seems to me befitting the seriousness of thi 
hour, and in conformity with suggestive obligations of duty, 
that your Governor should not absent himself from the capital 
of the State, and that the public rejoicing with which I hopei 
to greet you should, in our joint sorrow, be changed into ant^ 
concentrated in a heartfelt prayer for the speedy recovery of our 
honored and beloved President. The occasion is more eloquent 
than language, and I need hardly commend to you and all 
others commemorating our nation's birth an obvious thought — 
even this sorrowful incident is a fervid witness to personal free« 
dom under the government of the United States — to its per- 
petuity, which hangs not upon any single life, either of citizen 
or President, and to its strength — before which all the provisiona 
of liberty shall remain fertile — and through which all offences 
against law shall meet just punishment. 

Worcester, Mass., July 4, 1881. 

A union prayer-meeting was held here in Mechanics' Hall at 
noon to-day. Fifteen hundred persons were present. Prayers 
were offered by the leading clergymen. Senator Hoar address- 
ed the meeting at considerable length. He said : " All the citi- 
zens here feel as though their first-born was lying at the point of 
death. There are times when we realize most deeply what we 
owe to our country. This is such an occasion, and no courage, 
no comfort except that which comes to Christian hearts from 
God's Word, can meet our wants. All pain must find relief in 
some articulate cry, but the only cry that can alleviate our pain 
is that cry to God which His ministers can best utter. The love 
of the people for the President is not misplaced. He has a 
great, brave, affectionate heart. He loves his country. He has 
a high conception of a pure administration ; and if we are to 
lose him it will be the greatest single calamity except the death 
of Lincoln that has ever fallen upon this country. 

Senator Hoar spoke of his own close personal relations with 
the President and of his glorious New England ancestry who 
participated in the first struggle of the Revolution. "Their 
8 



170 THE ASSASSINATION OH 

noble qualities," said Senator Hoar, "have descended to him. 
God grant that this precious life, this brave soul, this teeming 
brain may be spared. God grant that in this hour of peril all 
may share the faith and courage which fill his own soul." 

Cheyenne, W. T., July 4, 1881. 
A mass-meeting of citizens was held to-day and passed reso- 
lutions expressing sorrow and sincere sympathy with President 
Garfield and condoling with Mrs. Garfield. The resolutions 
were telegraphed to Secretary Blaine, by Delegate Post. 
Speeches were made by Governor Hoyt, Secretary Morgan, 
Chief Justice Sener, Associate Justice Peck, General A. G. 
Brackett and a number of clergymen. The city had been dec- 
orated gayly for the Fourth, but the decorations were all taken 
down. The people are bowed in sorrow. 

WiLKESBARRE, Pa., July 4, 1881. 

Owing to the great calamity which has befallen the whole na- 
tion no demonstration was made here to-day. The excitement 
at the various bulletins concerning the welfare of the President 
is increasing. 

Lancaster, Ohio, July 4, 1881. 

All the churches united in a prayer-meeting for the imperilled 
life of the beloved President to-day, and to-night a pall has set- 
tled over the city. Hundreds of people are in the streets fever- 
ishly awaiting the woeful intelligence that is momentarily ex- 
pected. 

Elberon, Long Branch, N. J., July 4, 1881. 

The bulletins received this afternoon from Washington made 
everybody here joyful. The less favorable bulletins to-night 
have caused a revulsion of feeling, and sad and anxious faces are 
seen everywhere. Especially are the evidences of grief notice- 
able among the guests of the Elberon Hotel, where President 
Garfield had lately stopped. There were no festive demonstra- 
tions at all here to-day, the Mayor having prohibited the explo- 
sion of fireworks or powder, because of the nation's impending 
calamity. 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 171 



SOUTHERN GRIEF AND ANXIETY. 

Columbus, Ga., July 4, 1881. 
At a public meeting of the citizens of this city, held in the 
Opera House to-day, the following resolution was unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the chairman of this meeting be requested to 
send the following by telegraph to the Hon. James G. Blaine, 
as expressive of the unanimous sentiment of this community. 

Columbus, Ga., July 4, 1881. 
To the Hon, James G. Blaine, Secretary of State : 

The people of Columbus, Ga., at a public meeting assembled, 
express their great abhorrence at the attempted assassination of 
the President of the United States. They deplore the act as a 
public calamity and resent it as a national outrage. Please sig- 
nify these sentiments to the President, and assure him of our 
earnest wish for his recovery ; also express to Mrs. Garfield our 
warmest sympathies in her great affliction. 

MARTIN J. CRAWFOPvD, Chairman. 

Walter H. Johnson, Secretary. 

Richmond, Ya., July 4, 1881. 

It is suggested here that Dr. Hunter Maguire, of this city, who 
was medical director of Stonewall Jackson's corps and is noted 
as a surgeon, be invited to Washington for the purpose of exam- 
ining the President's wounds. He has made the treatment of 
gunshot wounds a specialty. It is said that Dr. Maguire has 
expressed an urgent wish to examine the President's case, and, 
if possible, to give the distinguished patient the benefit of his 
experience. Of course Dr. Maguire, observing professional 
etiquette, would not go to Washington unless specially invited 
to do so. 

Augusta, Ga., Jaly 4, 1881. 

The City Council of Augusta has adopted resolutions express- 
ing sorrow and indignation at the attempt to assassinate Presi- 
dent Garfield, extending sympathy to his family and expressing 
the hope that the President would be spared to discharge for 
the good of the country the important duties of his exalted of- 



172 THE ASSASSINATIOK OF 

fice. Mayor May was instructed to telegraph the resolution! to 
the Department of State. 

Staunton, Va., July 4, 1881. 

The most intense sorrow prevails in this city in consequence 
of the President's condition. Business is almost entirely sus- 
pended, and crowds gather around the bulletin boards. A large 
meeting of the citizens was held to-night, and resolutions of 
sympathy for President Garfield were adopted. A. H. H. 
Stnart, Secretary of the Interior under President Fillmore, pre- 
sided, and a number of addresses appropriate to the occasion 
were delivered. 

Lynchburg, Va., July 4, 1881. 

The most intense solicitude is manifested here by men of all 
politicial parties in the fate of the President, and nothing but a 
sense of horror and indignation is expressed at the great crime 
against him and against the Republic. Prayers were offered 
yesterday in all the churches for his speedy recoverv. 

Mobile, Ala., July 4, 1881. 
Great excitement still prevails in the city, and the universa4 
expression is one of horror at the crime. Crowds congregate 
around the telegraph office and deep sympathy is being felt. 
Bulletins are anxiously expected. 

Charleston, S. C, July .4, 1881. 
The State Society of Cincinnati to-day adopted unanimously 
resolutions of indignation at and sorrow for the attempted assas- 
sination of President Garfield, which is aggravated by the fact 
of its commission almost on the eve of the anniversary of Ameri- 
can independence. They express their sympathy with their 
fellow-citizen, the President, who has been exposed to the 
weapon of the assassin because he was conscientiously discharg- 
ing his duty to his countrymen in the exalted office to which he 
was called by the suffrages of a free people. 

Fredericksburg, Va., July 4, 1881. 
The attempted assassination of the President has excited feel- 
ings of the most intense indignation here. Resolutions of the 
Mayor and Council expressing detestation of the crime and solici- 
tude for the President's wife were telegraphed to the Secretary 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. I73 

of State on Saturday night, and yesterday prayers were offered 
in all the churches for his recovery. Telegrams from Wash- 
ington are awaited anxiously to a late hour by all classes to 
learn the latest bulletins from the physicians in attendance upon 
the Chief Magistrate. 

Galveston, Texas, July 4, 1881. 
Specials to the News from all over this State report that 
the people everywhere in the State condemn, in the stronge^^t 
terms, the attempted assassination of the President. Expressions 
of the most profound sympathy and deepest sorrow are pouring 
in from all points. The prevailing opinion is that it was the 
work of a madman. 

New Orleans, La., July 4, 1881. 
Business is suspended, and eager crowds constantly surround 
the bulletin boards seeking news as to the condition of the 
President. A meeting of colored people, called to dedicate St. 
James's Hall, an institution of learning, adopted resolutions of 
sympathy and condolence in behalf of President Garfield, and 
forwarded them to his family through the Secretary of State. 
The Hancock Club adopted resolutions of profound regret and 
indignation at the dastardly attempt on the life of the President, 
praying that his life may be spared, to the end that the honor 
and integrity of American institutions may be sustained, and the 
administration of the Government continued under his conserva- 
tive, wise, and just control. 



174 TSS ASSASSINATION OF 



COMMENTS OF THE PRESS. 



Probably no event in the history of our nation has caused 
such deep and widespread feeling among all classes, and we 
here present the feelings as expressed by the leading papers in 
the land. 

From iV. Y. Herald, July 3, 1881. 

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF THE PRESIDENT. 

Another President of the United States has fallen at the 
hands of an assassin in but little more than sixteen years from 
the time of the death of Abraham Lincoln. But, happily, the 
murderously intended blow has fallen short of its desperate 
purpose; for, though Mr. Garfield's present condition is one of 
great and pre-eminent danger, he still lives and has so far rallied 
from the first two perils of his position — shock and hemorrhage 
— as to afford some ground for the hope that he may survive his 
wounds. 

Should he die his fate would be a national calamity ; for 
where a man, called by the voice of the people to the highest 
office in their gift, is thus forcibly assailed by violence and 
crime — where the will of one wild ruffian is put against the 
predilection of the nation — the victim of his assault is entirely 
lifted out of his individual character and attains in an especial 
and peculiar sense a supremely representative quality; and 
every man of right mind feels that he is personally wronged by 
such a wrong against the head of the Government. Fortunately 
there seems to be the deepest possible distinction perceptible to 
all between this crime and that of the murder of President Lin- 
coln, with which it is spontaneously compared in every man's 
thought. That was the outcome of fierce political passions; 
an expression of the fiual and desperate rage with wltich the 
less heroic elements of a conquered people regarded the man 
whom the con(][u^rors<delighted to honor. This, on the con- 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. 175 

trary, appears to be only the wild act of a madman. Demon- 
stration could hardly make a fact plainer than it now is that 
the assassin was crazy, and that he acted under an insane 
impulse in his conception that to have refused him an office 
was an outrage that called for the sacrifice of life. 

Within a few years the attempt to murder men at the head 
of governments has become a common crime ; but we have 
generally assumed that this was a vice of the European system. 
The Kings of Spain and Italy and the Emperors of Germany 
and Russia have in turn been assailed by these desperate and 
savage attempts, and our people have seen in this only the 
frenzy of the down-trodden masses of the Old World driven 
to conspiracy as the one resort for protest against a dominion 
they could not otherwise control. But how can that too lenient 
view of this dreadful sort of butchery be reconciled with the 
fact that ours is the only country in the world in which in our 
time two Chief Magistrates have thus been stricken down. In 
Russia they recently murdered a Czar, and if now they should 
murder another we would be apt to regard that country as 
given over to desperate chances, and society there as standing 
in permanent peril of the assassin's plans. Yet in the United 
States one President, as near to the hearts of the people as ever 
was any ruler in human history, was ruthlessly shot down in a 
public place ; and now a second, also a great popular favorite, 
a man of those large-hearted, amiable, manly traits that capti- 
vate and hold the admiration of the people, is brought low by 
the assassin's pistol, and lies upon a bed from which he may 
never arise. If it be not demonstrated that this murder is the 
mere irresponsible act of a lunatic we must revise entirely our 
ideas of this kind of crime ; for it cannot be regarded as the 
necessary product of tyranny if it occurs oftener than elsewhere 
in the freest country in the world. 

If there ever was a man in high station who might have bccTi 
thought absolutely safe from a fate like this it was certainly the 
man who has now fallen, for he stood in the way of no man, 
and no men who could in any contingency whatever have been 
supposed capable of reasoning that his removal by this method 
would be to their advantage. In even the recriminations of 
recent political agitation the only word said against him person- 
ally was that he was of a too gentle temper. Only madness it 
might well be thought could conceive of the assassination of 



176 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the President as a remedy for any imagined evil under a system 
of government like ours; but it must be a madness more than 
ordinarily removed from all the paths of ratiocination that 
could lead to the fancy that if great abuses were possible under 
our government they could be practised by this fair, easy, open- 
minded man, whose whole nature and character were as well 
known to the people as their own faces in the glass. It maybe 
a poor solace to the stricken ones of the President's family to 
consider that the blow which bids fair to blight the life in 
which they so naturally feel the most honorable pride comes 
from a source of this nature, and yet there should be some 
slight consolation in the thought that no rational enemy's will 
was behind this dreadful blow. For that venerable lady who 
lately reflected that she was the only President's mother who 
ever lived in the White House ; for the dear wife to whom the 
chivalrous gentleman sent his love as the tender remembrance 
of the first moment of his recovery from the consternation of 
the tragic assault; for the fine boys, full of the proud regard 
that sons must feel for such a father, there cannot but be some 
satisfaction in the thought that no man of the American people 
possessed of his reason could feel towards the son, husband, and 
father a murderous hate that could strike at his life; and they 
may well feel comforted and helped by a national sympathy 
deep and tender which desires the recovery of their beloved one 
with an earnestness and ardor that can yield only to their own. 

By the regular gradation of our constitutional law, familiar 
to the whole people, Vice-President Arthur wijl siicceed to the 
position of Mr. Garfield in case he should ^e, and tht» f«r-4he- 
fourth time in fofty^ars tTie~^Tea1r1mportancepf. this second- 
ary office haFBeeiTshown. 'BuT'forthis change of persbris the 
President's death can cause no political changes in a national 
sense, whatever may happen in a party sense. Those whom a 
hasty generalization is likely to put into the position of men to 
be benefited in party respects by this change are wise and just 
to act in any way save one likely to impress deeply and cer- 
tainly upon the minds of the people the conviction that they do 
not want to be held responsible for any such view of this tragic 
and most lamentable event, and that they would be the last of 
all men to desire such advantage. 

It is plain and clear enough to our own people that the trag- 
edy has no political relations and is only an expression of the 



fBESIDENT GARFIELD. 177 

insane impulse of an individual. But abroad, where they 
imagine us from late agitations to be in a fever of revolution, 
and where they do not know that the limit of party passion 
never rises to this height, the event will be misunderstood and 
misinterpreted and commented upon as one of the growing evils 
of our system. 

From New York Times, July 3, 1881. 

THE ASSASSINATION. 

In the crime which was committed at Washington yesterday 
there is the very irony of fate. Considering his origin and the 
circumstances of his youth, no man has passed a career more 
remarkable or attained a dignity more striking than that of 
President Garfield. Beginning life the son of an almost penni- 
less widow, forced to struggle as few men must for the bare 
maintenance of an equality with his fellow-men, he has risen 
step by step to one of the most honorable positions offered by 
the government of any nation. It was his fortune to fall upon 
a time when great opportunities awaited great qualities, and to 
all occasions he presented qualities not unworthy of them. He 
entered manhood as the political contest with slavery approached 
its crisis, and he threw all the energies of a strong nature on 
the side of freedom. From the field of discussion and the bal- 
lot the conflict with slavery was taken to the field of war, and 
without hesitation, with absolute devotion, with a courage which 
knew no fear, he entered on this new and terrible task. In all 
the tests of fitness for the citizenship of a free Republic to which 
he was subjected he won high distinction, until at last his country 
called him to the greatest office within its gift. And this Presi- 
dent, to whom Americans had pointed proudly and justly as a 
splendid example of what our country and its cherished princi- 
ples were able to do for manhood — simple manhood, unfavored 
of fortune and unaided by any inheritance of title or precedence 
— is shot down without a moment's warning by an assassin whose 
hatred was directed not to the man but to the President. 

The whole country is bowed with deep grief and indignation 
at this event. It is inevitable that it should be. There are few 
men who enjoy, and none who deserve to enjoy, the name of 
American citizen to whom this crime does not bring a sense of 
personal sorrow and a profound feeling of patriotic humiliation. 
8* 



178 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Whatever may have been the criticisms which they have passed 
upon the President, all American citizens must feel the " deep 
damnation " of this attempted " taking off." He was an obscure 
son of the Republic who had brought to its most distinguished 
post gifts of mind and character which conferred credit on the 
office, and almost at the outset of his term his life is assailed 
by a wretch who represents as distinctly the evil in our system 
as President Garfield represents the good. For, though the 
murderer was obviously of disordered mind, it is impossible to 
ignore the causes which led immediately to this act — which 
directed his ill-regulated will to its final aim. He was a dis- 
appointed oflSce-seeker, and he linked the bitterness of his 
personal disappointment with the passionate animosity of a fac- 
tion. His resentment was inflamed and intensified by the assaults 
upon the President which have been common in too many 
circles for the past few months. Certainly, we are far from 
holding any party or any section of a party responsible for this 
murderous act, but we believe it our duty to point out that the 
act was an exaggerated expression of a sentiment of narrow and 
bitter hatred which has been only too freely indulged. It is 
not too much to say, in the first place, that if Mr. Garfield had 
not been the chief of a service in which offices are held out as 
prizes to men of much the same merit and much the same career 
as this murderer he would not have been exposed to this attack. 
And while this is beyond dispute, it is also probable that the 
murderer's mad spite would not have been "screwed to the 
sticking point" if it had not been stirred by the license that 
has prevailed in certain quarters with reference to the President. 
The event, therefore, is one which may and ought to convey a 
lesson, which should teach us the folly and the wrong of the 
insane pursuit of office which our methods of public employment 
invite, which should show us the danger and disgrace of the 
unbridled political passion aroused by these methods. In a 
certain sense the act of Guiteau was an accident, for it was en- 
lircly out of the range of any ordinary motives, but it is not 
inexplicable; it is clearly of those accidents which bring more 
vividly to the mind the forces that create them. 



/ 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 179 

From JSr. Y. Sun, July 3, 1881. 

PRESIDENT GARFIELD THE LAND PLUNGED IN MOURNING. 

James A. Garfield, President of the United States, was shot 
and mortally wounded, by an insane assassin, at the Baltimore 
Depot in Washington, at about ten o'clock yesterday morning. 
He was removed to the White House, where he remains at the 
point of death. 

The President had gone to the depot to take the train for 
New York, where, with several members of the Cabinet, he had 
an engagement to dine in the evening. 

No event since the assassination of Abraham Lincoln has 
created such a shock. The sensation of profound sorrow is 
universal. The American people have but one heart to-day, and 
it is overwhelmed with grief at this sudden, unexpected, and 
tragic striking down of their Chief Executive Magistrate. 

Fortunately, deplorable as this terrible event is, and although 
it will be attended by important personal consequences, the death 
of General Garfield will have no political significance. It was 
not the work of a party or of a faction, but was perpetrated by 
one man, who is understood to have been in a state of mental 
aberration at the time. 

Our great holiday— the anniversary of the nation's birth — 
to-morrow will be converted into a day of universal sorrow over 
one of the saddest events in our whole national history. 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

From N. 7. Tribune, July 3, 1881. 

faction's LATEST CRIME. 

A second President lies stricken down by assassination. Pres- 
ident Lincoln was murdered, not by the rebellion, but by the 
spirit which gave the rebellion life and force. President Gar- 
field has been shot down, not by a political faction, but by the 1 
spirit which a political faction has begotten and nursed. But ' 
for that spirit, there was hardly a man in this country who 
seemed at sunrise yesterday more safe from murderous assault. 
A great-hearted, loving, kindly man, whose warm and genial 
nature had made fifty millions of people his personal friends, 



180 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

President Garfield was immeasurably more popular yesterday 
than he was when the ballots of the nation made him its Pres- 
ident. The party which he had defeated had learned to admire 
and love him. His political friends were thrilled with pride 
when they saw that he had already accomplished, in only four 
months, more than other Presidents in four years of service. 
It was felt by friends and foes that he was one of the ablest 
Presidents ever chosen, and the country looked forward with 
great hope to the grand work to be done by such a President 
during the rest of a term but just begun. And yet to-day the 
whole nation bows in sorrow. The noble President, the states- 
man whose deeds have already honored the nation throughout 
the world, the genial friend, the tender husband and loving 
father, has fallen by the shot of an assassin. There was no 
personal quarrel. It does not appear that the victim had ever 
Ivuown or seen his assailant. There is absolutely nothing to 
account for this horrible deed, which to a great nation is a ter- 
rible calamity, except a crazy spirit of faction. 

Every true American will rejoice if it shall appear that the 
murderer was insane. Yet did not men call Booth a madman ? 
Both were sane enough in all the ordinary walks of life ; both 
had passed without question as men of sound minds, ill-balanced 
indeed, but entirely responsible ; and both w^ere sane enough to 
prepare with caution, thoroughness, and precision as to detail, 
for a deed towards which they were moved by a spirit shared by 
many others. It does not appear that the assassin of yesterday 
had ever been thought a lunatic, by any associate or acquain- 
tance, until the deadly shots were fired. Was he " crazed by 
political excitement," then, as many say ? At what point, if 
ever, did the madness of faction become the madness of irre- 
sponsibility ? Do the leaders of faction ever intend all the 
mischief which grows from the wild and desperate spirit which 
they create, feed, and stimulate, week after week ? Is it not 
their constant crime against self-government that, by kindling 
such a spirit, they send weak or reckless men beyond the bounds 
of right or reason ? This assassin, it seems, was not ignorant 
that he was trying to kill one President and to make another. 
His language and letters prove that he knew what he was doing 
only too well. As " a Stalwart of the Stalwarts," his passion 
was intense enough to do the thing which other reckless men 
had wished were done. So the assassin Booth put into a bloody 



PBE8IDENT GARFIELD. 181 

deed the malignant spite of thousands of beaten rebels. His 
deed stands in liistory as the cap-sheaf of the rebellion. So 
the spirit of faction which fired the shots of yesterday gave in 
that act the most complete revelation of its real character. 

That political fanaticism has been showing itself before us 
all in many phases little short of madness. The country has 
seen the wildest ravings of abuse about the President, and has 
paid little attention — but not because it thought the men who 
uttered them insane. It has listened to malignant scandals which 
it has seemed impossible that sane citizens would utter regard- 
ing the Chief Magistrate of their country; but has hstened 
with contempt, fancying that the fanaticism of faction 
would go no further. But curses and threats are followed at 
last by murderous shots, "and the country starts with horror. 
Xever again will any sane man cry, " I am a Stalwart of the 
Stalwarts !" Never again will a blind and furious fanaticism 
of faction seem to sane men a thing to boast of. As Booth 
ended the rebellion by showing what its real spirit was, so this 
horrid flash of light, which shows how narrow is the dividing 
line between faction's frenzy and Mexican assassination, will 
bring an end, let us hope, to a most shameful phase of partisan- 
ship in this country. 

Truly, the ways of Providence are inscrutable. That this 
grand President, so great and good, so kindly and so true, whose 
life seemed so full of promise for the land, should be stricken 
down, seems beyond human understanding. And yet, the Infi- 
nite Father has been too good to this people for us to doubt 
that his care is over us still. Perhaps this nation needed to be 
taught some things which only a great aflSiction and shame 
could teach. Perhaps it needed to be taught that the worship 
of men had gone too far. Perhaps it was necessary in order to 
save this country from gradual Mexicanization, to force home 
the conviction that the spirit of faction is at war with the very 
existence of free institutions. Must we not realize, in the light 
of the dreadful calamity at Washington, that those who breed 
and nurse this malignant, selfish, grasping, and desperate spirit 
are aiming a blow at the life of the Republic ? 



182 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



A BLOW AT REPUBLICANISM. 

The bullet of the assassin who lurked in the Washington 
railway station to take the life of President Garfield shattered 
the simple Republican manner of life which the custom of nearly 
a century has prescribed for the Chief Magistrate of the United 
States. Our Presidents have been the first citizens of the Repub- 
lic — nothing more. With a measure of power in their hands 
far greater than is wielded by the ruler of any limited monarchy 
in Europe, they have never surrounded themselves with the 
forms and safeguards of courts. The White House has been a 
business ofiice open to everybody. Its occupant has always been 
more accessible than the heads of great commercial establish- 
ments. When the passions of the war were at fever heat, Mr. 
Lincoln used to have a small guard of cavalry when he rode out 
to his summer residence at the Soldiers' Home ; but at no other 
time in our history has it been thought needful for a President 
to have any special protection against violence when inside or 
outside the White House. Presidents have driven about Wash- 
ington like other people, and travelled over the country as 
unguarded and unconstrained as any private citizen. 

All this, we fear, must come to an end now. The assassina- 
tion of Mr. Lincoln was regarded as the outcome of the rage of 
the beaten rebellion. When the war was fully closed, and its 
fierce anger died away under the softening influences of peace, 
no one thought there could be any personal danger attaching to 
the Executive oflSce. Strangers went every day to the Presi- 
dent's room to prefer their requests, or stopped him in the street 
to shake his hand. He came in contact with multitudes of 
unknown people, any one of whom could have shot him had he 
chosen. We were proud of the freedom and simplicity of our 
President's way of living. Now General Garfield is stricken 
down by two cruel wounds from a murderous weapon, in a time 
of profound peace, when there is nothing to stir the passions of 
men save a pitiful contest over a few ofiices in a single State. 
Henceforth, alas, the President must be the slave of his office, 
the prisoner of forms and restrictions, for he will have reason 
to fear an assassin in every crowd that presses about him, and 
in every stranger who seeks to approach him. Who can blame 
him if he throws aside all the traditional ease, familiarity, and 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 183 

accessibility which have lightened the labors of the place in 
times past, and hedges himself in with ceremonials, soldiers, and 
official restrictions? Will not the country insist that he should 
do so ? A President's life is the most valuable life in all the 
land, for it touches the interests of every citizen. It is far too 
precious to be left open to assault by any conspirator or mad- 
man who wishes to cut it short. 

From the Philadelphia Press. 

It is a strange and hideous mockery of reason that twice 
within the span of two decades our Government— the freest and 
best republic on earth — should be stained with the blood of its 
highest ruler. The tragic death of the beloved Lincoln was the 
darkest page in our annals ; and now we are startled with the 
swift and sudden repetition of that desperate and execrable deed 
which seemed to tower over all infamies as the unapproachable 
crime of the century. The country stands with bated breath 
to-day, as it did on that sad day sixteen years ago, not paralyzed, 
not trembling, not surrendering trust or hope, not doubtful that 
our institutions are equal to the severest strain ; but wondering 
at the cruel fate which prostrates our cherished leader, and 
which casts over our enlightened liberty the shadow that we are 
accustomed to associate only with the dark despotisms of the 
Old World. No President since Lincoln has been more beloved 
than Gen. Garfield. None has commanded a greater degree of 
public confidence. ... In the universal and profound horror 
which it excites, deep feeling and passion may associate with 
some political cause or inspiration, but such a thought is too 
monstrous to be entertained. No portion of the American peo- 
ple has yet descended to that depravity. We have not yet 
become so Mexicanized that assassination is employed as a polit- 
ical weapon. This crime, which plunges a whole nation into 
sorrow, is the deed of one maddened fanatic, crazed, it may be, 
by political excitement, and wrought into a morbid state by 
imaginary wrongs, but representing nothing but his own insan- 
ity. 

From the Baltimore Sun. 

In this community all personal, all partisan feeling seemed 
buried in the common sentiment of sorrow. While justly, per- 



184 THE ASSASSINATION Off 

haps, no political significance could possibly be attached to the 
act of a half-crazed assassin, the nation yet felt itself struck at and 
wounded in the person of its Chief Magistrate. It was the Presi- 
dent as well as the man who lay dying all day yesterday in the 
White House, and the whole country felt that the threatened 
loss and sorrow were its own. . . . Whatever the merits 
and qualifications of Vice-President Arthur may be, it is very 
certain that he was never seriously thought of by the American 
people in connection with the Presidential oflBce. He was 
never named in the list of those upon whom the choice of the 
Chicago Convention might possibly fall. He was nominated for 
the second place, not the first. Although elected upon the 
same ticket, and by the same support, as President Garfield, he 
has been recognized as belonging to that wing of the Republi- 
can party which has arrayed itself in open and pronounced 
opposition to the President. His unexpected accession to the 
Presidency would signalize, therefore, a change of policy pre- 
sumably almost as great as would follow from the election of a 
President of opposite politics. 

From the Boston Traveller. 

It is unutterably shameful and inexpressibly sad. Every 
friend of reaction, every enemy of liberty, every champion of 
strong, absolute government will take encouragement from this 
iniquitous deed. It is a plea for the rule of the Romanoffs and 
the Bonapartes, presented at the bar of history from the land 
of George Washington. Every citizen of the Republic will feel 
to-day the hot blush of shame on his face and a deep sen '^f 
irreparable wrong at his heart. It is a crime utterly without 
excuse, evil, base, and damnable. Words will wholly fail to 
give expression to the feelings that will crowd for utterance 
from every honest heart. As the news of this outrage upon 
the human race speeds from one branch to another of the fam- 
ily of nations, they can but sit in silence and nurse the bitter 
wrath which they cannot hope to adequately express. 

From the Albany Argus. 

UNITED IN ABHORRENCE OF THE DEED. 

In the abhorrence of the assassination, in the purpose never 
to let it be naturalized here as a means to vacate offices or to 



PBESIDENT QABFIELD. 185 

wreak the revenges of displaced men, in respect for the rights 
and persons of our rulers, in the resolve that murder shall be 
made as unprofitable as it is infamous, in adherence to the law 
and to the officials chosen by the law, we are all Democrats 
and we are all Republicans. 

From the Albany Evening Journal. 

A CHILD OF THE REPUBLIC. 

No man ever deserved better of the Republic. He had con- 
spicuously illustrated in his career the genius of our institu- 
tions ; of the magnificent opportunity which it offers to wealth 
and intelligence. Every poor boy in the country had hope put 
in his bosom by reading his life. He was, in the best sense, a 
child of the Republic, the offspring of its distinctive ideas, and 
as such, the people, who so lately chose him as their Chief Mag- 
istrate, held him in the most respectful and affectionate regard. 

From the New Orleans Times. 

THE MOTIVE PECULIARLY MYSTERIOUS. 

Inasmuch as the general feeling throughout the country 
towards President Garfield has been more kindly than has been 
known for many years past, the motive for the attempted assas- 
sination is peculiarly mysterious. Whether the wounds are 
fatal or not, the event must excite universal condemnation and 
regret. 

From the Baltimore Sun (Dem.). 

THE NATION WOUNDED. 

In this community all personal, all partisan feeling seems 
buried in the common sentiment of sorrow. While justly, 
perhaps, no political significance could possibly be attached \r, 
the act of a half-crazed assassin, the nation yet felt itself 
struck at and wounded in the person of its Chief Magistrate. 
It was the President as well as the man who lay dying all 
day yesterday in the White House, and the whole country 
felt that the threatened loss and sorrow were its own. 



186 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

^From the Columbus {Qa.) Enquirer- Sun (Dem), 

THE SOUTH HAS CAUSE FOR SADNESS. 

The news of the attempt to take the life of the President 
caused intense excitement in this city. The deepest interest is 
felt throughout the entire community, and we but utter the 
sentiments of our citizens and of the whole people in this sec- 
tion when we express a sincere wish for his speedy recovery. 
His death will be looked upon by our people as a public 
calamity. Business security, public progress, and civilization 
receive this blow of the assassin. The South has cause for 
sadness, the Union for tears. 

From the Augusta {Ga.) Chronicle {Dem.). 

A WAIL OF RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION. 

Because this is the American Union, and because our Presi- 
dent is the fit ruler of a free people, a wail of righteous indig- 
nation swells in unbroken chorus over this whole land, protesting 
against the gigantic wrong, and demanding justice against the 
villain who horrified the Republic and disgraced the image of 
his Maker. 

From the Richmond Dispatch {Dem.). 

Though nations may swell the cry of indignation called forth 
by the attempt to assassinate the President of the United 
States, there will, in all the earth, be no sincerer mourners than 
the people of the Southern section of this Union. The true 
Southerner is a true man, and he despises treachery and cruelty 
and assassination. Well is it for the man who sped the bullet 
of the assassin that he did not do it in a Southern city ; for 
hot Southern blood would have terminated his life without wait- 
ing to learn whether he was a maniac or not — as he was, we 
take it for granted. We all feel as if a personal wrong had 
been done to us — as if he were bone of our bone, and flesh of 
our flesh, who was basely assaulted in Washington yesterday. 
We claim him at once as our President, and if — which Heaven 
forbid — he should die in consequence of his wounds, every 
Southern house will go in mourning and every Southern heart 
will bleed, as every Southern tongue claims the martyr as its own. 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 187 



From the Baltimore American {Rep). 

A BLOW AT REPUBLICAN INSTITUTIONS. 

The assassination of President Garfield is the raost serious 
calamity that has befallen this country since the birth of the 
Republic. The death of Abraham Lincoln by the hand of 
Wilkes Booth, though not less terrible, was so plainly traceable 
to the malignant influences of the rebellion that it excited 
profound grief rather than actual alarm, and it did not for a mo- 
ment raise a question as to the stability of the Government. 
The assassination of President Garfield, on the contrary, oc- 
curring at a time when the country is peaceful and prosperous, 
and the loyalty of the South has ceased to be a cause of appre- 
hension, is in the nature of a blow struck at the very life of 
republican institutions. 

Whether the assassin had accomplices or not — whether his 
design was known to those who were to profit by his crime or 
not — the fact stands out in startling prominence that the mur- 
derer was, by his own confession, inspired with the same mo- 
tives that have actuated the third-term conspirators from the 
very beginning, and that he fired the fatal shot for the distinct 
purpose of accomplishing their plots by the succession of Mr. 
Arthur to the Presidency. He may be, as there is some reason 
to believe, a monomaniac ; but his monomania is identical, ex- 
cept as to its practical result, with that of Conkling and Cameron, 
and Logan and Grant. If he was not the selected instrument 
of others, it will at least be admitted that a man better fitted for 
the work of an assassin could not well have been procured. 
Whatever may have been the part that this miserable wretch 
played, it is unhappily but too certain that the assassination of 
President Garfield is the logical outcome of the third-term con- 
spiracy. The Stalwarts have indeed destroyed the President at 
last. What the ultimate consequences of this coup d'etat will 
be it is impossible at the moment to predict. The event is stillC 
too recent to be looked at calmly. 

From the Montgomery Advertiser 

THE VOICE OF THE PRESS. 

A gloom rests on the hearts of patriots in every section of the 
country. Its shadow already settles upon all the festivities of 



188 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

the Fourth of July, and the voice of sorrow rises above the 
song of joy and gladness. For the second time in the history 
of the Republic, the deadly bullet has been aimed at the life of 
the chief Executive. The murder of the lamented Lincoln re- 
mains a monument of shame and grief to the American people ; 
but it seems that even so ghastly a picture does not suffice 
for that brutal spirit whose satanic insanity defies the Ruler of 
the universe and feasts its savage revenge on human suffering. 
President Garfield is the second victim the assassin has sought 
in the person of the chief Executive of the millions whose glory 
has been that theirs is " the land of the free and the home of 
the brave." It is a most melancholy and humiliating reflection 
— the first officer of the Government shot down as though he 
were a culprit fleeing from justice ; it is a fact that sends a 
gloom over the whole land. It is the saddest sound that has 
ever fallen on the hearts of the oppressed millions of other 
lands, who would fain believe the American Republic the best 
and safest asylum on earth. 

From tJie Buffalo Commercial Advertiser (Rep.). 

A FOUL WRONG. 

The calamity has revealed the firm hold that President Gar- 
field has upon the esteem and affection of his fellow-citizens. 
That he may be spared and restored to the vigorous health that 
has been his blessing is the prayer that ascends to the Great 
Ruler of nations from the millions of people in this vast Repub- 
lic. James A. Garfield, if he lives, will learn, after the trial to 
which he is now subjected, how sincerely he is respected by the 
people who so recently placed him in the highest office of their 
Government. There are no political lines now, when a nation 
is shocked by the reports of assassination, and mourns with the 
loved ones and loving wife who are gathered by the bedside of 
a wise father, a kind husband, and a faithful son. There are no 
distinctions of persons in this great nation at such a time, for 
all who are Americans by birth or by adoption cry out against 
a crime so heinous, and their hearts turn towards the victim of 
so foul a wrong. 



PRESIDENT (GARFIELD. 189 



From the Portland Advertiser. 

The spoils system is directly responsible for the infamous 
outrage. It was because the appointing power is now vested in 
the arbitrary will of a President that Guiteau's malevolence was 
directed towards Garfield. 



From the Boston Journal. 

It was so impossible to conceive of any provocation for an 
attack upon the President, and it seemed so incredible that a 
career like his, as the honorably-elected leader of a great and 
free people, could be cut short by such weapons as are directed 
against kings and despots in Europe, that the first reports of the 
awful tragedy found few to accept them. 

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 

The half-crazy miscreant who committed this deed of horror 
struck to kill and rejoices in his infernal triumph. He claims 
himself a Stalwart of the Stalwarts, and a Conkling man, and 
boasts that he murdered the President as a political necessity 
to make Arthur President and reunite the Republican party. 
Doubtless he is crazy — the fact is duly certified to by his ante- 
cedents — but nothing but the most consummate craft could have 
planned a political assassination so opportunely for the purposes 
of the Stalwart chiefs who are benefited by it. The blow was 
struck just in the nick of time to save them from utter over- 
throw. A single life lay between them and the full possession 
of that power and patronage which they counted as the chiefest 
of earthly goods, and for which they had struggled with the 
firm disposition of hungry wolves, and that life has been snuffed 
by a murderer. 

From the Boston Herald. 

Sad and lamentable and far-reaching in its possible conse- 
quences as is this act of frenzy, it loses all sinister political 
significance when it appears as the deed of a disappointed office- 
seeker, who, through his disappointment, has lost his wits. 
Assassination has no place in our political system, if ever justifi- 
able in a land of free speech and universal suffrage. 



190 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



From the Hartfoi'd Gourant. 

There is probably no Government elsewhere that would be so 
little disturbed by such a crime. The complicated wheels of the 
Executive machinery will hardly be checked for an instant if 
Garfield leaves us. Should General Arthur become President 
there would be changes, but they would be chiefly in the mere 
personnelle. In matters of general policy — notably in affairs of 
finance — he is in tota\ accord with the present Administration. 
• • • • He calls himself a "Stalwart," whatever that may be; 
but it is a lie to give him only a poHtical significance which he 
never possessed. 

From the Buffalo Morning Courier. 

In the face of such a calamity as the assassination of the 
President, it behooves us to remember that the man struck down 
in the prime of his glory was the representative and chief ruler 
of us all; that in him was personified the majority of the Repub- 
lic ; that to him was due the hearty allegiance of every citizen 
during the term for which the majority had chosen him. The 
Democrats opposed General Garfield's election, and were out- 
spoken in their criticisms of what they deemed his faults; but he 
was their President, no less than the President of the men who 
voted for him, and they feel the shock of the pistol shot that 
struck him down no less than their Republican neighbors. This 
is the essence of our nationality. The attempted assassination 
seems to be the act of an irresponsible and isolated lunatic, and 
not the result of a conspiracy with its root striking down into 
some mysterious social organization, or nourished by bitter fruit- 
fulness of some political grievance. Every suspicion that any 
American politician, even in the heat of a struggle of parties or 
factions, would resort to assassination as a means of putting a 
rival out of the way, should be set aside resolutely. In addition 
to our sense of the public calamity we are simply content to 
express our grief for the genial, kindly man, possibly to be 
snatched away from life in a moment when life had everything 
to promise for his enjoyment; our sympathy for the gentle wife, 
who all day yesterday ran a race with death on her dreary 
journey to Washington, and our sorrow for the fine old mother 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 191 

who has seen all the glories of her son suddenly darkened in 
death's eclipse. 

From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

Throughout the day and night people watched with' the suf- 
fering President, and in this vigil there came to them thoughts 
that come only to a free people in great crises. There was in no 
quarter any excuse for the act or any expressed or implied syni- 
p:ithy for the murderer. There was no disposition, except among 
tlie shallow-pated and little-souled, to turn the tragedy to politi- 
<'al account, and the maudlin mutterings of this class were 
promptly rebuked. The people, to their credit be it said, saw 
the attempt on the life of the President in the light of a menace 
against the Government, and a crime against our civilization. 
They were more than the friends of General Garfield ; they were 
the champions of good government protesting against any phi- 
losophy, any fanaticism, any NihiHstic tendency, however slight, 
tliat would excuse such a crime anywhere or that would fail to 
condemn it. If President Garfield should live through this 
crisis all the people will be reverent in their thankfulness and as 
one man in their rejoicing. Should he die they will turn in 
their sorrow and wrath to crush out all the un-American mush- 
room sophistry that makes assassination possible. 

From the Hartford Evening Post. 

How far is the moral responsibility of men in their right 
minds, controlled purely by their own selfish interests and ambi- 
tions, affected in tracing the causes of this assassin's irresponsible 
net? How much has all the talk of the severely exercised Stal- 
wart organs and apostles contributed to upset the balance of a 
weak mind, already disturbed by personal disappointment? If ^ 
this poor, weak fellow has been about Washington, nursing his / 
grief from day to day, he must have habitually read the daily / 
diatribes of the so-called Washington organ of the Conkling/' 
faction and the star route gang. 



193 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

From tfie New York Times, July 4. 

THE FEELING TOWARDS THE PRESIDENT. 

Most of our readers must have been struck during the past 
forty-eight hours by the peculiar tenderness and affection with 
which the public have spoken of the President. It was natural 
that there should have been grief and indignation and humilia- 
tion over the attempted assassination, but we think that the 
hearty and kindly tone which pervaded the general comments 
on the President himself was a grateful surprise to most. It was 
not with the people at large simply that the chief Executive had 
been so cruelly struck down, or that our national reputation had 
suffered a shock ; this was inevitable and was deeply felt ; but 
what, we think, most observers were not prepared for was the 
wide outburst of unreserved sympathy and admiration and 
downright love for Mr. Garfield. Nor was this confined to his 
own party by any means. It was even more marked among 
those who had been politically opposed to him, who belonged to 
the party which, in the late canvass, was most bitter and abusive 
towards the Republican candidate. 

This is a feature of the terrible experience through which the 
nation is passing which is of most hopeful significance. It shows 
that however reckless and violent may be the demonstrations of 
passion and prejudice in our party contests, they do not express 
the real and abiding temper of the people. They necessarily 
attract great attention, and appear to be the outgrowth of gen- 
eral sentiment; but the quiet and sincere feeling of the great 
mass of citizens is not only out of sympathy with but opposed 
directly to these manifestations. In Mr. Garfield's case this is 
particularly gratifying, because, while he has been a man of un- 
questioned and deserved distinction in public life for many 
years, his reputation has only lately been really national, it has 
only been recently that he has really been known to the whole 
people. The sentiment that has been manifested towards him 
has been brought into existence within the past year, and is a 
remarkable proof of the sane and sound manner in which the 
people do, in fact, frame their judgments, however reserved they 
may be ordinarily in giving form to them. Undoubtedly 
the basis of the affection which has been so strikingly exhibited 
during the last two days is the conviction of the essential recti- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 193 

tude of the President's character. Following his course in its 
broad features, the people have thoroughly approved of it. They 
have seen him vindicated very promptly in the selection of his 
Cabinet by the undoubted ability and elevation of purpose which 
the most active members of it have shown. They have watched 
his relations with the Senate, and have seen him courageous yet 
discreet, firm and dignified without obstinacy, showing no*^ ill 
temper, and bearing with cheerful patience the wickedest attacks 
upon his motives. There has been nothing heroic, or brilliant, 
or imposing in his course ; but it has been sensible, sincere, prac- 
tical, and honorable, and it had undoubtedly given rise to a very 
strong sentiment of respect and confidence in the public mind. 

Suddenly came the attempted assassination. The hourly 
bulletins from Washington described Mr. Garfield as bearing 
himself, in the face of almost certain death and under the most 
poignant suffering, with perfect composure and fortitude. Then 
the popular regard was instantly intensified into fervid affection 
and admiration. Every heart felt a tender pride in hearing that 
the wounded and possibly dying President had preserved the 
bearing of a soldier in the presence of pain and peril as great as 
if he had fallen on the battle-field. Mr. Garfield's splendid 
nerve, his patient and chivalric abnegation of self, his unfaltering 
manliness, appealed powerfully to the best feelings of every 
nature. And there was no American heart so callous that it 
was not moved by the simple eloquence of the despatch he dic- 
tated to his absent wife. These incidents brought out the 
personal character, the nobility and simplicity and solid excel- 
lence of the President. The knowledge of them instantly made 
a place for him in the intimate affection of his fellow citizens. 
These felt that he was, in the saddest and severest trial to which 
a man could be subjected, showing himself every inch a man. 
There was a sense of deep satisfaction that if it was our fate to 
furnish the miserable assassin whose mad and cowardly cruelty 
must disgrace the nation, our President, the elected highest 
representative of the entire people, was redeeming our name b)^ 
the magnificent qualities which he was manifesting. This 
capacity for instant recognition and admiration of manliness is 
of no small value to a people, for its basis is sympathy with the 
virtue to which it is directed; and in the hearty affection that 
has everywhere gone out towards Mr. Garfield is an evidence of 
the essential soundness of the popular heart — an evidence which 
9 



194 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

some conspicuous incidents in our recent political life have 
rendered peculiarly welcome. 

New York Tribune, July 4. 

A NATION IN SUSPENSE. 

While the stricken President still struggles between life and 
death a great and unwonted anxiety fills the public mind. It 
arises from two sentiments which the shock of this terrible 
calamity has clearly revealed. One is the affection and confi- 
dence in which General Garfield is held by the people, and the 
other is the dread of what may come after him if the "Stalwart" 
assassin's bullet proves to have done its work effectively. 

No one knew until Saturday how strong a hold our President 
had gained upon the hearts of the people of this country. 
His honest, open, noble nature, his genial friendliness, his quick 
sympathy with all classes and conditions of men, had as much 
endeared him to our affections as his genius and great services 
had commended him to our admiration. He was the people's 
President, one of them in his origin, in his early struggles, in 
his honorable success, in the sturdy national strain of his charac- 
ter and mind. While he had attained by his great talents and 
splendid industry a place beyond the reach of competition years 
ago, and had afterwards been raised to the highest station upon 
earth attainable through the free choice of a people, he never 
lost the popular qualities which rendered him less an object of 
envy than of hearty personal regard, not only among the 
thousands who knew him, but also among the millions to whom 
he was merely a name and a type of greatness due to merit and 
to labor. The controversy forced upon him at the very outset 
of his administration, the good-natured firmness, utterly devoid 
of arrogance and bluster, with which he pursued the course he 
thought required by his self-respect and the best interests of the 
country, resulted in a great increase of his popularity among 
a people who like firmness and courage, most especially when 
accompanied with sense and modesty and free from arrogance 
and selfishness. Just at the moment when his fellow-citizens 
had begun to appreciate him and love him most, the bullet of 
the assassin laid him low, and the tenderest compassion was 
added to their former regard. By the every- day miracles of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 195 

telegraph and the printing-press working together the whole 
mass of the people have been admitted to his bedside, and have 
scanned his every action and expression since the blow was 
struck. In these long hours of pain and mortal peril they 
learned anew how brave and true and tender a soul their great 
ruler possessed. His calm resignation to the will of heaven ; 
his absence of all feeling of resentment against his assassin and 
his enemies; the knightly devotion with which his first care 
was given to breaking the news and sending his love to his 
faithful wife; his cheerful serenity, lightened even to jocularity , 
with his friends at his bedside ; his words of comfort to his 
weeping children; the indomitable will and courage with which, 
when his physician informed him that he had one chance in a 
hundred of living, he replied, " Then we will go in on that 
chance" — all these things have touched the hearts of millions, 
and turned their admiration and regard to warm and anxious 
affection. Yesterday, from thousands of churches, prayers went 
up to Heaven for the safety of a life that had suddenly grown 
more precious than ever, and last night there were few family 
altars in the land that did not send up the same petition with 
passion and tears. 

The pain of his loss, if it be the will of Heaven that the na- 
tion shall lose him, seems therefore a sorrow too great to be 
borne, at this hour, when the people seem first to have come to 
a full and adequate knowledge of him. But mingled with this 
sentiment of sorrow is another which it is our duty as chroni- 
clers to record. It is a feeling everywhere expressed on Sat- 
urday, and yesterday as well, that what is known of the 
Vice-President is not of a nature to inspire that full measure of 
confidence which would afford the only consolation possible in 
a disaster like the present. General Arthur is a gentleman of 
many accomplishments and many amiable and engaging quali- 
ties. He is represented to us by those who know him well as 
one of the most upright of citizens, one of the most loyal 
and devoted of friends. It is precisely here that the public 
mind finds its cause of doubt and apprehension. It is feared 
that he is more devoted to his friends than to the public wel- 
fare ; that he can see nothing but good in them, and nothing 
but evil in their opponents. If this be true, and if the grief and 
misfortune is in store for us of losing the noble, enlightened, 
placable and generous ruler, whom we chose in joy and hope 



196 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

last year, then the bitterness of the present sorrow and the 
weight of the present anxiety will be as nothing to what we 
shall have to endure in the four troubled years which are to 
come. 

From the Philadelphia Times. 

Had the assassin's deed been done in the tempest of revolu- 
tion, there might have been something to plead in extenuation 
of the crime ;"but the animating purpose and the circumstances 
which precipitated the act are, if possible, more terrible to con- 
template than the murder itself. That assassination should 
become the weapon of inflamed faction, and that trembling 
political criminals should murder the President of the great 
Republic of the earth, with the boast of crime mingling with the 
groans of the murdered ruler, make the bitterest cup ever pre- 
sented to the lips of our free people, and its consequences are 
beyond the power of man to measure. If one so beloved and 
respected as James A. Garfield can be murdered under the very 
shadow of the Capitol when peace and plenty abound through- 
out the land, when the passions of sectional strife have been 
stilled, when the waves of party conflict have been calmed, and 
when only the murmur of the spoilsman could be heard in dis- 
cord with the general tranquillity, then indeed is the gloom that 
encircles the nation impenetrable. 



From the St. Louis Post-Despatch. 

A DEPLORABLE EVENT. 

A more deplorable event than this could hardly have hap- 
pened. Of all countries in the world this is the one in which 
the weapon of an assassin should never be directed against men 
in authority. Our political system affords a ready relief, and 
there is no grievance against a ruler which cannot be reached 
through peaceful methods. It is plain that the terrible act of 
this man Guiteau can have no political significance. Having 
given himself to office-seeking he probably brooded over his 
disappointment until his mind was overthrown. 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 197 

From the Columbia (S. C.) Register. 

THE SADDEST OF TIDINGS. 

The whole country is overwhelmed with consternation and 
sorrow at the terrible tidings the wires bring us of the shooting 
of President Garfield. We all feel, in this section of the coun- 
try, that no sadder tidings could come to us than the death 
of Garfield, the chosen Executive of the people of the whoK^ 
country. It is true, we believe, that the unboughten voice of 
the people of the free States of the Union would have seated 
Winfield S. Hancock ; yet James A. Garfield has been installed 
into oflSce without one word of dispute as to his lawful election, 
and as such he sits in the seat of Washington and Adams, Jef- 
ferson and Jackson — as much the President of the whole coun- 
try as ever they were. The people of the South, although they 
claimed nothing at the hands of President Garfield but a lawful 
administration of the country's affairs, had reached a well- 
defined hope that the whole country would enjoy under Garfield 
another administration of peace and rest and comfort, which 
would push us along the road to enduring peace and a well begun 
prosperity. If this is all to be dashed by the hand of an assassin, 
and Vice-President Arthur takes the seat as a declared partisan 
of the most declared Stalwart stripe, then indeed is there trouble 
enough in the land to cover it with thick mourning. To attrib- 
ute this diabolical deed to any faction in the country without 
further evidence than we have would be manifestly unjust. Yet 
the whole country must open its eyes to the fact as to who the 
beneficiaries will be by the event of the untimely, brutal, and 
cowardly slaying of our President; and should any Administra- 
tion coming into power attempt to put us back under the Grant 
policy, the whole country will know the reason why, and see the 
power behind the assassin's weapon that slew the man who made 
a third term impossible. If any man can take comfort in a!i 
this wide land at the terrible blow at the whole country's heart, 
we, of the South, at least, bend our heads in deep sorrow whilst 
the bloody work flourishes over us. 



198 TBE ASSASSINATION OF 



From the Springfield (Mass.) BepvMican, 

CONSUMMATION OF THE SPOILS SYSTEM. 

The assassination of an American President is an event so 
terrible that we are glad that it is not devoid of meaning and of 
political significance. A railroad collision or a madman might 
have been the means of President Garfield's death, but if he 
must be taken off by violence, and particularly by crime, let us 
rejoice that his death means something. The assassination of 
President Garfield by a disappointed office-seeker is the consum- 
mation of the spoils system. Guiteau is a miserable ne'er-do- 
well, who shares the common feeling that all the offices are in 
the dispensation of the President of the United States, and that 
he has a claim on that functionary for patronage. He is in 
sympathy with Arthur and Conkling in the struggle over the 
New York Custom House. His wits have become only a degree 
more disordered than those of Conkling himself, and being a 
much weaker and feebler man his vengeance has taken the di- 
rect and vulgar form of a pistol shot, rather than the more 
refined form of resigning the seats of the Republican majority 
in the United States Senate and demanding a vindication from 
the State of New York. The practice of centring all patronage 
in the President, making his will and the will of his favorites 
the supreme test whether civil servants shall be retained or dis- 
missed, regardless of their efficiency and regardless of the terms 
for which they were appointed — this dictatorship of the offices 
can but have the effect to centre upon the President all the in- 
trigue and hostility of those disappointed, the desperate polit- 
ical opposition of senators and men of high position, and the 
malignity, hatred and violence of men of low instincts. 

From the Albany Express. 

JUSTICE BAFFLED. 

In the presence of such a dastardly deed justice stands baffled. 
'' Life for life," indeed. Scores of lives might well be offered 
up to save the life of the President ; but the death of millions 
of Guiteaus cannot avenge the shocking crime which this wretch 
has committed, nor can it be adequately punished by man. It 
is to be deeply deplored, not only because it may remove from 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 199 

office one whose abilities, acquirements and accomplishments 
adorned the position, but because it inspires profound distrust 
of the personal safety of the President of a free people, engaged 
in the discharge of the duty to which they called him, whenever 
he disappoints a desperado who may dare to seek office at his 
hands. 

Fivm the Chicago Tribune. 

THE PEOPLE OVERWHELMED. 

The assassination of President Garfield has naturally shocked 
the national mind, and for the time overwhelmed the hearts of 
the entire people. It has rarely been the fortune of any man to 
be elected to the Presidency and enter upon the duties of the 
office under such favorable circumstances. To his aid he had 
called a Cabinet of able and experienced statesmen, and during 
the four brief months of his administration he had won the 
confidence of the great mass of the American people. The 
action of the assassin was deliberate. To the credit of the 
country it must be borne in mind that there is nothing in his 
attempted deed of murder prompted by popular complaint of 
the government, of the laws, or of the President personally. It 
was the act of a man of crazed mind seeking infamous notoriety, 
and madly believing he would find some one to glorify him. 
The country will unquestionably and without a dissenting voice 
acquit those at political variance with General Garfield of all 
complicity or knowledge of this atrocious deed. At the same 
time it will be remembered that this crazy demon was in that 
mental condition to be influenced by current events of the day, 
and the fact that a faction in New York was striving to defeat 
the administration was just such an event as would suggest to 
the mind of this man seeking notoriety that the removal of the 
President would terminate the contest, unite the party, and 
perhaps win for himself the gratitude of the victors. While no 
sane man will admit a suspicion that this attempted assassina- 
tion has any connection with the New York case, still, on the 
theory that this assassin was deranged in his mind, and taking 
his own letters as indicating the direction of his insanity, no one 
will question that had not that factious controversy taken place 
this attempted murder would not have suggested itself to this 
man Guiteau. Even this does not establish any responsibility 
on the part of any one besides Guiteau for the deed itself, but it 



200 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

will rise in men's minds, and whether the President shall die or 
recover it will survive as part of the history of the whole mur- 
derous transaction, even long^ after the present generation shall 
have passed away. If anything could add to the universal grief 
of the American people over the attempted assassination of 
President Garfield, the anticipation of three and a half years' 
government under Mr. Arthur, and all which that implies, will 
be by the American people generally accepted as a pending 
national calamity of the utmost magnitude. 

From the Knoxville {Tenn.) Tribune. 

NOT DUE TO NIHILISM. 

The attempt upon the life of the President is deeply deplored 
by every one we have heard express themselves. It is a fortunate 
thing for us as a nation that the calamity has occurred at a time 
when the world may be shown that no spirit of Nihilism insti- 
gated the deed or directed the hand of the assassin, and that it 
may not be traced to the great party schism now assailing this 
government ; that, in short, it can be traced to neither North nor 
South as an indicative sentiment. 

From the Chicago Times. 

THE ASSASSIN NOT A MADMAN. 

The man who has attempted to take the life of the President 
IS not a madman. He is a very rational office beggar. He is 
one of a large class of citizens who have been educated by Ameri- 
can politics and politicians to regard public offices not as places 
of public trust to which no individual person could set up any 
claim, but as the spoils of success to be fairly claimed as rewards 
by persons who have contributed by their efforts to the success 
of those higher trustees who hold the power to bestow them. 
He is a disciple of the political gospel preached by William L. 
Marcy and practised by Andrew Jackson ; preached by Roscoe 
Conkling and Chester A. Arthur and John A. Logan, and not 
practised to the pleasure of either the assassin or his illustrious 
preceptors by President Garfield. As the assassin of President 
Lincoln (whose name and place were not material) was a product 
of puW4C-_4i^^se, which manifested itself in the pro-slavery 
rebellion^ solKe intending assassin of President Garfield (whose 
name and place also are not material) is a product of a public 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 201 

disease called the "spoils system." More notable products of 
the same disease are Conkling and Arthur and Logan. Every 
citizen who is not at heart a political assassin will earnestly peti- 
tion Almighty God to spare the life of President Garfield and 
save this land from the impending national calamity, the succes- 
sion of Chester A. Arthur to the Presidential office. Is it not 
also a good time for all good men to supplement their petitions 
for help to the throne of Heaven with resolutions to make all 
possible exertions to enable the people to help themselves by 
eradicating the infamous spoils system and abolishing the super- 
fluous contrivance called the Vice-Presidency. 

Fi'om the Buffalo Courier. 

NOT THE RESULT OF A CONSPIRACY. 

In the face of such a calamity as the assassination of the 
President it behooves us to remember that the man struck down 
in the prime of his glory was the representative and chief ruler 
of us all; that in him was personified the majority of the repub- 
lic; that to him was due the hearty allegiance of every citizen 
during the term for which the majority had chosen him. The 
Democrats opposed General Garfield's election, and were out- 
spoken in their criticisms of what they deemed his faults; but 
he was their President no less than the President of the men 
who voted for him, and they feel the shock of the pistol shot 
that struck him down no less than their Republican neighbors. 
This is the essence of our nationality. The attempted assassina- 
tion seems to be the act of an irresponsible and isolated lunatic, 
and not the result of a conspiracy with its roots striking down 
into some mysterious social organization or nourished by bitter 
fruitfulness of some political grievance. Every suspicion that 
any American politician, even in the heat of a struggle of par- 
ties or factions, would resort to assassination as a means of putting 
a rival out of the way should be set aside resolutely. In addi- 
tion to our sense of the public calamity, we are simply content 
to express our grief. Genial, kindly man, possibly to be snatched 
away from life in a moment when life had everything to promise 
for his enjoyment ! Our sympathy for the gentle wife who all 
day yesterday ran a race with death on her dreary journey to 
Washington, and our sorrow for the fine old mother who has 
seen all the glories of her son suddenly darkened in death's 
eclipse ! 
9* 



202 fBE ASSASSINATION OF 



WOEDS OF SYMPATHY. 



London, July 3, 1881. 
The news of the attempted assassination of President Gar- 
field reached London this afternoon in time to be printed in the 
last editions of the evening papers ; too late, however, to be- 
come known to the general public until a much later hour. In 
fact, the people living at the West End and in the suburbs are 
yet, in many cases, unaware of the tragedy, owing to the fact 
that the special editions of the evening papers are not published 
later than six o'clock. The news first obtained general circula- 
tion in the theatres — at Covent Garden, where Patti was sing- 
ing, at Her Majesty's, where it was a Nilsson night, and at the 
Princess', where there was a revival of Bronson Howard's play, 
" The Old Love and the New." A general exodus of Ameri- 
cans took place after the sad news became known, and their 
departure caused visible vacancies in the stalls and boxes. 
Thenceforward a stream of inquirers, among them many ladies 
in opera dress, poured into the Herald office, into Minister 
Lowell's private residence, and into the American Exchange, all 
anxious to learn the latest particulars. At the hotels and the 
American Exchange numbers stayed up until daylight this 
morning waiting for the bulletins forwarded by you to the 
London office. It is not too much to say that scarcely an 
American family in London retired to rest until they had re- 
ceived news of your latest bulletin telling of the almost hope- 
less condition of the sufferer. Telegrams keep pouring in from 
all parts of the United Kingdom asking for detailed informa- 
tion. 

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES. 

The news was received at the Foreign Oflace a little before 
four o'clock, and a message was immediately forwarded to Lord 
Granville at his private residence. He at once communicated 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 203 

it to the other members of the Cabinet and to the Queen at 
Windsor, yrho was deeply moved by the startling intelligence. 
During the afternoon Lord Granville called twice at the Lega- 
tion to inquire after the condition of the President. Later in 
the evening Minister Lowell received the following despatch 
from Her Majesty : 

" Sir Henry Ponsonhy, Windsor CastUy to His Excellency Mr. 
Lowell^ United States Minister : — 

" The Queen has heard with the deepest concern the report 
of an attempt having been made on the life of the President, 
and sincerely trusts that the rumors of his having been seriously 
wounded are untrue. Her Majesty would be glad to learn any 
news you may be able to give her." 

This despatch was immediately communicated to the Secre- 
tary of State at Washington. 

COMMENTS OF THE 

The following appears in this morning's Observer in double 
lead : "A most profound and sincere feeling of regret will be 
occasioned by the news we publish this morning of a dastardly 
crime of which the President of the United States has been the 
victim. There is no evidence as yet that the attempted assas- 
sination comes under the category of political crimes. Mr. 
Garfield owes the attempt upon his life, in as far as is known, 
to the fancied grievance sustained by some dismissed official. 
Regicide, however monstrous in itself, is still an intelligible 
crime — that is, a crime for which it is possible to assign a mo- 
tive ; but to kill one President with the view of making room 
for another is an act of insane folly, as well as wickedness, 
which is hardly likely to be committed by any man in his 
senses. It is too early yet to form any opinion as to the Presi- 
dent's chances of recovery, but our American kinsmen may rest 
assured that the intelligence from Washington will be awaited 
almost as eagerly by Englishmen as by the President's own 
fellow countrymen." 



204 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



Telegrams from far and near conveying Expres- 
sions of Sorrow, and the Answers sent. 

SECRETARY BLAINE TO MINISTER LOWELL. 

Washington, July 2. — The following has been forwarded by 
cable : 

Department of State, 
Washington, D. C, July 2. 
James Russell Lowell^ Minister^ etc., London : 

The President of the United States was shot this morning by 
an assassin named Charles Guiteau. The weapon was a large- 
sized revolver. The President had just reached the Baltimore 
and Potomac station, at about 9.20, intending, with a portion 
of his Cabinet, to leave on the limited express for New York. 
I rode in the carriage with him from the Executive Mansion, 
and was walking by his side when he was shot. The assassin 
was immediately arrested, and the President was conveyed to 
a private room in the station building and surgical aid at once 
summoned. He has now, at 10.20, been removed to the 
Executive Mansion. The surgeons, on consultation, regard his 
wounds as very serious, though not necessarily fatal. His vig- 
orous health gives strong hopes of his recovery. He has not 
lost consciousness for a moment. Inform our Ministers in 
Europe. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary/ of State. 

minister LOWELL TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

London, July 2. 
Blaine, Secretary, Washington : 

Telegram received. Express to Mrs. Garfield the profound 
sympathy of this legation. Queen has sent to inquire and ex- 
press solicitude. LOWELL, 

Minister. 

EARL GRANVILLE TO MINISTER THORNTON. " 

London, July 2, 5 p.m. 
Thornton, Washington : 

Is it true that President Garfield has been shot at ? If so, 
express at once great concern of Her Majesty's Government 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 205 

and our hope that report that he has sustained serious injury is 
not true. GRANVILLE, 

Foreign Office^ London. 

GENERAL HANCOCK TO GENERAL SHERMAN. 

Governor's Island, N. Y., July 2. 
To General W. T. Sherman, Washington: 

I trust that the result of the assault upon the life of the Pres- 
ident to-day may not have fatal consequences, and that in the 
interest of the country the act may be shown to have been that 
of a madman. Thanks for your despatch and for your promise 
of further information. W. S. HANCOCK. 

GENERAL GRANT TO SECRETARY LINCOLN. 

Elberon, N. J., July 2. 
To Secretary Lincoln, Washington : 

Please despatch me the condition of the President. News 
received conflicts. I hope the most favorable may be confirmed. 
Express to the President my deep sympathy and hope that he 
may speedily recover. TJ. S. GRANT. 

MINISTER LOWELL TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

London, July 3, 1881. 
To Blaine, Secretary, Washington : 

Just received the following from the Queen : " I am most 
anxious to hear latest accounts of the President, and wish my 
horror and deep sympathy to be conveyed to him and Mrs. Gar- 
field." LOWELL, 

Minister. 

SECRETARY BLAINE TO MINISTER LOWELL. 

Sunday. 
Lowell, Minister, London : 

Please convey to her Majesty, the Queen, the thanks of the 
President and Mrs. Garfield for her repeated expressions of sym- 
pathy and interest. Inform her Majesty that at this hour, 12.30, 



206 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the condition of the President is much improved, and his symp- 
toms are regarded as favorable, or at least hopeful. 

BLAINE, 

Secretary, 

MR. EVARTS AND OTHERS TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Paris, July 3. 
Blaine, Secretary, Washington : 

Our countrymen receive successive accounts of President's 
condition with profound sorrow and deepest sympathy with 
public and private affliction. We receive expressions of con- 
dolence and of horror at crime from representatives of other 
nations. We still cherish hopes of favorable issue, and desire to 
express our heartfelt sympathy la the grief that surrounds the 
President. EVARTS. 

THURMAN. 

HOWE. 

HORTON. 

C. H. GROSVENOR TO COLONEL ROCKWELL. 

Athens, Ohio, July 3, 1881. 
Colonel A. F. Rockwell, Executive Mansion, Washington : 

The first encouraging word has filled us all with joy. May 
God save the President. C. H. GROSVENOR. 

H. D. D. TWIGGS TO COL. ROCKWELL. 

Augusta, Ga., July 3, 1881. 
Colonel A. F, Rockwell, Washington : 

The people of this city and of Georgia generally profoundly 
sympathize with the President and with the country in the 
present calamity. Prayers for his recovery will be offered in 
the churches to-day. H. D. D. TWIGGS. 

W. H. ROBERTSON TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Albany, July 3. 
To the Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 
Will you tell me the President's present condition ? Reports 
vary greatly. Reassure him of my deepest sympathy with him 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 207 

in this hour of the nation's peril, and with Mrs. Garfield in the 
terrible affliction. Prayers more fervent and earnest than ever 
before for any man, or any cause, will go up to-day from 
every church and every loyal heart in the land that he may be 
•pared. May a kind Providence grant the petition. 

W. H. ROBERTSON. 



H. A. BARNUM TO COL. CORBIN. 

New York, July 3. 
Colonel H. C, Corbin^ Executive Mansion, Washington : 

What is the condition of the President at this hour ? God 
grant his preservation to the nation he has served so well and 
the myriad of friends who love him as a brother. 

H. A. BARNUM. 

SECRETARY BLAINE TO MR. ROBERTSON. 

Washington, July 3. 
The Hon. William H. Robertson, Albany, JV., Y. : 

We grow more and more encouraged as to the final result, 
though still most deeply anxious. The President's condition 
has steadily improved since last night at nine o'clock, and now, 
at 3 P.M., he is doing as well as his physicians could possibly 
hope. He has never lost consciousness or courage for a mo- 
ment, and awaits the issue with more calmness than his sur- 
rounding friends. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

GOV. CORNELL TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Albany, July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 

This morning's tidings, which were awaited with extreme 
anxiety, have been received with reverent thankfulness. The 
improved condition of the President is gratefully accepted as 
the basis of hope for his early convalescence. Assure the Pres- 
ident that the people are thoroughly united in expressions of 
horror and indignation on account of the wicked crime, as well 
as in prayerful solicitude for his speedy and complete restora- 
tion. ALONZO B. CORNELL. 



208 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 



SECRETARY BLAINE TO GOV. CORNELL. 

Washington, July 3. 
To the Hon. Alonzo B. Cornell^ Governor, etc., Albany, N. Y. : 
The President's condition has steadily improved for the past 
eighteen hours. He is now, at 3 o'clock p.m., doing as well as 
his physicians could hope. We all feel greatly encouraged, 
though still profoundly anxious. The President returns his 
sincere thanks for your warm expressions of sympathy. He 
bears up wonderfully, and faces death with the calmness of true 
Christian courage. JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

KING ALFONSO TO MR. BARCA. 

Madrid, Juiy 3, 1881. 
To Spanish Minister, Washington : 

In the name of the King express to the Government of the 
United States the profound sorrow that the attempt against the 
President's life has caused in Spain. His Majesty and his Gov- 
ernment fervently hope for the recovery of President Garfield. 

MINISTER MORAN TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Lisbon, Portugal, July 3. 
Blaine, Secretary, Washington: 

Am horrified by the attempt upon the President's life. 
Await intelligence with intense anxiety. MORAN. 

FROM THE MAYOR OF JACKSONVILLE. 

Jacksonville, Fla., July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 

The citizens of Jacksonville, in common with the entire coun- 
try, are shocked at the intelligence of the attempted assassina- 
tion of the President, and desire that you express to Mrs. Gar- 
field their sincere sympathy in this hour of her deep grief, and 
their hope that the President may be spared to the country, the 
genius of whose institutions he so grandly illustrates. 

MORRIS A. DZEALINSKI, 

Mayor of Jacksonville. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. J09 



GOV. FOSTER TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Columbus, Ohio, July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State : 

The continued favorable reports are gratefully received. I 
have requested the people of the State to assemble in the 
churches to-morrow to engage in devotion to Almighty God, and 
that the celebration of to-morrow shall be conducted in accord 
with the then physical condition of the President. May God 
grant him speedy and full recovery is the prayer of all. Please 
read this despatch to the President. CHARLES FOSTER. 

SECRETARY BLAINE TO GOV. FOSTER. 

Washington, July 3, 9.15 p.m. 
His Excellency Charles Foster, Governor of Ohio : 

The President is deeply touched with the feelings of affection 
manifested by the people of his native State, as shown by your 
telegram, just received. His condition is unchanged. No un- 
favorable symptoms supervened, and his fortitude and cheerful- 
ness are admirable. I trust the pious and devoted example of 
Ohio may be followed by all the States of the Union to-morrow. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

FROM THE HANCOCK ASSOCIATION. 

New Orleans, July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 

At a meeting of the Hancock Association of Louisiana, cor- 
vened by order of the President, at No. 11 Commercial Place, 
John McEnery called the association to order, and, referring to 
the recent sad intelligence from Washington of the attempt to 
assassinate President Garfield, invited the members to manifest 
their sorrow and sympathy in some appropriate form, where- 
upon Isaac W. Patton offered the following resolutions : 

Be it resolved. That the attempt to assassinate President Gar- 
field has been received and regarded by the members of this 
association and by their fellow-countrymen as a great calamity 
to the nation, and arouses in the breasts of all patriotic citizen? 



210 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the profoundest sorrow and sympathy for the President and his 
family, and grave anxieties for the troubles and turmoil that may 
result to the Republic from so horrible a crime. 

Resolved, That we cherish the most earnest and sincere hope, 
and unite with all good people in their fervent prayers for the 
recovery of the President from his great affliction. 

These resolutions were unanimously adopted, and were or- 
dered to be telegraphed to the Secretary of State of the United 
States. JOHN McENERY, President. 

Robert W. Adams, Secretary. 

AN ITALIAN SOCIETY TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Baltimore, July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 

Please forward to his Excellency the President of the United 
States, the profound sympathy of the Italian beneficial society 
Unione e Fratellanz, of Baltimore, and wishes for his speedy 
recovery. M. VICARI, President, 

L. Lazzeni, Secretary. 

FROM THE PEOPLE OF ROUMANIA. 

Bucharest, Roumania, July 8. 
His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affair s, Washington : 

The crime at Washington has filled our hearts with horror. 
In the name of the Government and of the entire people of 
Roumania I transmit to your Excellency this evidence of the 
sentiments of grief which the news of the assassination has in- 
spired throughout this country, and I beg you to express these 
sentiments to the Government and to the family of the illus- 
trious victim. I. C. BRATIANO, 
President of the Council of Ministers, and Minister of Foreign 

Affairs. 

MINISTER LOWELL TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

To Blaine, Secretary, Washington : 

Messages of inquiry and sympathy have been received from 
Prince and Princess of Wales, and Duke and Duchess of Teck. 



PBESIDENT GAMFIELD. 211 

Expressions of interest and sympathy are universal. Calls at 
my house and the legation are incessant. I have duly for- 
warded your telegrams to our legations in Europe. 

LOWELL, Minister^ London. 

FRANK GOODMAN TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Nashville, Tenn., July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 

In behalf of the profession of which President Garfield was 
an honored member and the Business Educators' Association, I 
extend to himself and family our profoundest sympathy, hoping 
for a speedy recovery. FRANK GOODMAN, 

Vice-President Business Educators' Association of America. 

FROM THE MAYOR OF ST. JOHN. 

St. John, New Brunswick, July 3. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington : 

The citizens of St. John, New Brunswick, desire to express 
their deep and heartfelt sympathy with President Garfield and 
his family in this time of their great affliction. They recognize 
in the President a great statesman and Christian gentleman, and 
sincerely trust that in the good providence of the Almighty he 
may soon be restored to perfect health. 

1. JONES, Mayor. 

MR. HAMLIN TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Bangor, Me., July 3. 
James G. Blaine, Washington : 

Telegrams received. Information of the hopeful condition 
of the President is a great relief to all, but we are all terribly 
anxious. Convey my earnest, heartfelt sympathy to the Presi- 
dent and family. H. HAMLIN. 

FROM THE KING OF SWEDEN. 

To the Secretary of State : 

Sir: His majesty the King, my august sovereign, has bidden 
me express the horror with which he has learned of the awful 



21^ THE ASSASSINATION OF 

attempt against the life of his Excellency the President of the 
United States, and the sentiments of sorrowful sympathy which 
he feels for the whole American people in this hour of their 
deep affliction, and the sincere prayers which he offers for the 
speedy recovery of the illustrious invalid, in which the people 
of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway join. 



CLARA MORRIS TO MRS. ROCKWELL. 

RivERDALE, N. Y., July 3. 
To Mrs. A. F» Hockwell, Executive Mansion : 

For Mrs. Garfield. At such a time I will not presume to re- 
call myself to Mrs. Garfield by directly addressing her, yet I 
cannot remain silent. May I not hope, Madam, that through 
your courtesy and good judgment the afflicted lady may re- 
ceive the assurances of my heartfelt sympathy, and earnest 
prayers for the welfare of her and hers. Of course, hundreds 
are at hand to render all great services for the patient, but if I 
can aid in even the most trivial way, command me I entreat you, 
and, dear Madam, believe me most respectfully, 

CLARA MORRIS. 

COLONEL ROCKWELL TO CLARA MORRIS. 

Executive Mansion, July 4. 
Mrs. Clara Morris-Harriott, Biverdale, N. T. : 

Mrs. Garfield wishes me to express to you her grateful appre- 
ciation for your kind and heartfelt words. She feels that the 
sympathy and prayers of her countrywomen at this time are of 
measureless value and comfort. A. T. ROCKWELL. 

FROM THE SOCIETY OP THE CINCINNATL 

New York, July 4. 
To Hon. James G. Blaine, Washington, D. C. : 

The New York State Society of the Cincinnati have heard 
with heartfelt sorrow and indignation of the murderous assault 
upon the President of the United States, and they desire to ex- 
press to the family of the President their deep sympathy in the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 213 

distressing calamity which has so suddenly overwhelmed them 
in the deepest grief, and to join their prayers with those of the 
whole community that our heavenly Father may bless with suc- 
cess the means used for his recovery, and may continue to our 
country and its institutions his care and protection in the severe 
trials that may be impending. 

Resolved^ That a copy of the foregoing, certified by the Presi- 
dent and Secretary, be transmitted by telegraph to the Honora- 
ble Secretary of State of the United States. 

HAMILTON FISH, President. 

John Schuyler, Secretary, 

REPLY OP SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Washington, D. C, 
Executive Mansion, July 4. 
To the Hon. Hamilton Fish^ President of the Society of the Cin- 
cinnati^ N. Y. : 

Accept, on behalf of the President, the sincerest thanks for 
the sympathy of your illustrious and patriotic society. 

JAMES G. BLAINE, 

Secretary of State. 

FROM THE ITALIAN CH^RG6 D'AFFAIRES. 

New York, July 2. 
To Secretary of State, Washington : 

I have just learned with the deepest regret and indignation of 
the horrible attempt on the President's life. I sincerely trust 
he may recover. CAM PORE ALE, 

Charge d^ Affaires of Italy, 

FROM THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN. 

ToKio, July 4. 

To Voshida, Japanese Minister, Washington : 

The despatch announcing an attempt upon the life of the 
President has caused here profound sorrow, and you are hereby 
instructed to convey, in the name of his Majesty, to the Govern- 
ment of the United States the deepest sympathy and bope that 



214 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

his recovery will be speedy. Make immediate and full report 
regarding the sad event. WOO YENO, 

Acting Minister for Foreign Affairt, 

FROM THE LORD MAYOR OF DUBLIN. 

Dublin, July 4, 
To American Minister^ Washington: 

Municipal Council, assembled to-day, takes earliest opportu- 
nity of expressing great sorrow and regret at dastardly attempt 
on life of gallant, distinguished President of United States, and 
desires to tender its deep sympathy to the Americans and Gen- 
eral Garfield's family. LORD MAYOR DUBLIN. 

MR. PARNELL to secretary BLAINE. 

To Secretary Blaine : 

In behalf of Irish members I beg to express our horror at 
crime against the Chief Magistrate of American people, and our 
earnest prayer that his life may be spared. PARNELL, 

House of Commons. 

GOV. COBB TO SECRETARY BLAINE. 

Montgomery, Ala., July 2. 
To the Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington : 
Profound and universal sympathy here for President. Tele- 
graph us his condition. R. W. COBB, Governor. 

SECRETARY BLAINE TO AMOS TOWNSKND. 

To the Hon. Amos Townsend, Cleveland, Ohio : 

The President's condition has not materially changed since 
morning. At this hour, 2.30, he is suffering less pain. He is 
entirely calm and courageous. His mind is clear, and he ac- 
cepts whatever fate God may ordain for him with perfect resig- 
nation and sublime Christian faith. We are profoundly anxious 
and yet hopeful as to the final result. JAMES G. BLAINE. 

WHITELAW REID TO MRS. GARFIELD. 

To Mrs. Garfield : 
Love, sympathy, and hope. 

^ WHITELAW REID AND WIFE. 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 215 

FROM AN EX-CONFEDERATE SOLDIER. 

Edenton, N. C, July 3. 
To His Excellency J. A. Garfield : 

A blind and wounded ex-Confederate soldier tenders his con- 
gratulations on your improved condition. May God raise you 
to preserve the peace and dignity of the nation. 

R W. BOND. 

from two catholic bishops. 

Fort Wayne, Ind., July 3. 
To the President of the United States: 

The Catholic Bishops of Peoria and Fort Wayne desire to 
express their most sincere sympathy and the most earnest wish 
for your speedy recovery. J. L. SPALDING, 

JOSEPH DEVENGER. 

FROM THE LADIES OF RICHMOND. 

Richmond, Va., July 3. 
To Mrs. Garfield: 

We deeply sympathize with you in your sad affliction. We 
sliall to-day send up many earnest prayers for the speedy recov- 
ery of your affectionate husband and our beloved President. 
THE LADIES OF RICHMOND. 

FROM KING CHARLES OF ROUMANIA. 

Bucharest, Catrocini, July 4. 
To President Garfield, Washington : 

I have learned with the greatest indignation, and deplore most 
deeply, the horrible attempt against your precious life, and beg 
you to accept my warmest wishes for your quick recovery. 

CHARLES. 

M. OUTREY TO MRS. GARFIELD. 

Paris, July 4. 
To Madame Garfield, Executive Mansion : 
Accept expression of our deepest sympathy. OUTREY. 



216 ' THE A88A88INATI0N OF 



SECRETARY BLAINE TO AMERICANS IN PARIS. 

An important consultation was held this morning, in which 
Dr. Agnew, of Philadelphia, and Dr. Hamilton, of New York, 
able and skilful surgeons, were present. The result is not re- 
assuring, though the conclusion was that recovery is possible. 
We do not give up hope. BLAINE, 

Secretary, 

FROM A DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION. 

Zanesville, Ohio, July 4. 

In the Democratic Convention of Muskingum County, held 
here to-day, for appointing delegates to the Democratic State 
Convention, the unanimous sentiments of the members were 
expressed in the following resolution offered by Mr. George W. 
Jewett, son of the Hon. H. J. Jewett, of this city, which were 
forthwith adopted by the united voices of all present : 

Resolved, That, in common with all patriotic citizens, the 
members of this convention view with horror and indignation 
the act having for its purpose the taking of the life of our Chief 
Magistrate, and that we regard such an attempt as the highest 
and most revolting of crimes ; 

Resolved, That we extend our heartfelt sympathies to our 
wounded President and to his gentle wife and family, and 
prayerfully trust that Providence will save to our country his 
life, and to his family the kind-hearted man, the brave husband 
and father, and one the country would learn to know better and 
to love. T. F. SPANGLER. 

FROM PHILADELPHIA CINCINNATI. 

Philadelphia, July 4. 
The Hon. J. G. Blaine : 

Will you be good enough to communicate to the President 
the following resolution, unanimously adopted by the State So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania at a meeting held this 
day : 

Resolved, That the present critical condition of President Gar- 
field fills our hearts with the deepest grief and sympathy, and 
while as a society we utterly condemn the cruel act of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 217 

assassin^ we offer our fervent prayer to the Almighty Ruler of 
the universe that the life of our beloved and honored President 
may be preserved for the best interest of the Republic. 

FRANCIS M. CALDWELL, 
Secretary. 

FROM THE ISRAELITES OF BOSTON. 

New Era Hall, July 4, 1881. 
The Hon. James G. Blaine^ Secretary of State, Washington, 
D. C. : 

The Israelites of Boston, in convention assembled, extend 
their heartfelt sympathy for President Garfield and their intense 
indignation at the outrage committed on our honored Execu- 
tive. Convey our profound sorrow and tenderest sympathy to 
Mrs. Garfield and family. Our prayers are fervently offered that 
the President may recover and live to fulfil the promise of his 
grand career at the helm of our beloved country. 

EDWARD S. GOULSTON, 

Chairman. 
CHARLES MORSE, ) 
ISRAEL COHN, V Committee, 

ISAAC ROSNOSKY, ) 

CONSUL-GENERAL SMITH TO MR. BLAINE. 

Montreal, July 4. 
To Eon. J. G. Blaine, Secretary of State : 

The manifestations of sympathy in this city have been uni- 
versal. I have just heard that the City Council has adopted a 
resolution expressive of the deep feeling by all citizens. The 
late favorable despatches are giving great encouragement. 

J. G. SMITH, 
Consul- General. 

FROM BARTHELEMY ST. HILAIRE. 

Paris, July 3. 
To M. de Geofroy, French Minister, Washington : 

Be good enough to convey to Mme. Garfield the sentiment 
of sorrow and sympathy which the President and Government 
feel You will express at the same time to the Vice-President 
10 



218 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

of the United States the deep and profound grief which this at- 
tempt has caused throughout all France. 

BARTHELEMY ST. HILAIRE. 

FROM THE FRENCH SECRETARY OF STATE. 

Paris, July 4. 
To M. de Oeofroy, French Minister, Washington : 
Send us frequent news of the President. 

LE COMTE DE CHOISEUL, 

Under-Secretary of State. 

FROM GEORGETOWN COLLEGE. 

The President and faculty of Georgetown College congratu- 
late Mrs. Garfield on the improved condition of the President. 
It is our fervent hope and prayer that the good God who pre- 
served her unto the President may now in turn preserve him unto 
her and the country. F. HEALY, 

President. 

FROM CITIZENS OF DUBLIN. 

Dublin, July 4. 
A great meeting of Dublin citizens under the auspicies of the 
Land League, celebrating American independence, has unani- 
mously passed resolutions expressing deep sympathy with the 
President and hope for his speedy recovery, denouncing the out- 
rage and deploring the attack on the chief officer of a free com- 
munity where the will of the people is the supreme law. 

SEXTON, M. P. 

FROM Philadelphia's people. 

Philadelphia, July 4. 
Twenty thousand people present at the exercises of the Bi-Cen- 
tennial Association of Pennsylvania to-day joined in the solemn 
expression of a prayerful hope that the encouraging symptoms 
reported from the bedside of the wounded [)atriot and states- 
man may speedily be followed by the assurance of a certain 
recoyery. 

E. C. KNIGHT, 

President. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 219 



CANADIAN SYMPATHY. 

Montreal, July 4. 
This afternoon, just before business was commenced by the 
Montreal City Council, a motion offered by Alderman Genier 
and seconded by Alderman George Washington Stephens was 
carried unanimously: "That the sympathy of the people of 
Montreal be given to the people of the United States and their 
condolence extended to the relatives of President Garfield in 
the terrible calamity that has befallen them." One Alderman 
regretted that, for once, the trial of the assassin had not been 
anticipated by Judge Lynch. This fairly represents the feeling 
among the people of Canada. 

Quebec, July 4. 
In the English Cathedral yesterday prayers were offered for 
the recovery of President Garfield. Great sympathy is ex- 
pressed for him and his family, and the hotels and offices of 
the newspapers and of Consul Wasson are besieged by anxious 
inquirers for the latest bulletins. 

Ottawa, Ont., July 4. 
The excitement still continues here over the attempted assas- 
sination of President Garfield, and the latest news is anxiously 
looked for. 

Halifax, N. S., July 4. 
The reception arranged to take place to-morrow on Her 
Majesty's steamer Northampton has been postponed until Sat- 
urday on account of the critical condition of President Garfield. 



220 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



VOICES FEOM THE PULPIT. 



WHAT PROMINENT GLEROTMEN SAID TO THEIR CON- 
GREGATIONS. 

soRROwma at the disciples church — a sermon on the 

ASSASSINATION AND ITS CAUSES. 

Washington, July 3. — The plain little wooden Church of the 
Disciples, on Vermont Avenue, where the Garfield family are 
accustomed to worship, was thronged at the morning service, 
despite the heat. No one from the President's household was 
present. Previous to the arrival of the minister a subdued rest- 
lessness pervaded the congregation, and there was much sober 
comparing of notes and asking of questions in regard to the latest 
news from the White House. In the absence from town of the 
Rev. Mr. Power, the pastor, the services were conducted by the 
Rev. Mr. Harbison, of Cincinnati, who said in the course of his 
opening prayer : 

" And now, O God ! in the midst of this deep and dark 
shadow which has been cast across our land, in the face almost 
of the death of the President of the nation, we come to thee 
for strength. Thou alone can support those who are most deep- 
ly afflicted, and guide the nation through its imminent peril. 
We pray to thee for the President. We beseech thee to be 
very merciful to him. We ask thee, if thou wilt, to save him 
from death. Oh, may he recover from his wounds. Our hearts 
yearn for this. We believe that in his great office a mighty 
work remains to be perfected. We believe that great interests 
have been confided to his hands. Oh, save him, God. We 
know not what is best for thee to do ; but if it be thy will, 
oh, for Christ's sake have mercy." (There arose here a sub- 
dued chorus of amens from all over the house.) " But if thou 
wilt take him hence," continued the orator, " as a consequence 
of this fearful calamity, God, prepare him for the solemn 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 221 

hour; make him depend upon thee more and more. Bring- 
forth into greater prominence the faith which has characterized 
his past life, and may the glorious hope of immortality brighten 
his dying bed." At this moment many were weeping, and sobs 
were audible from every direction. Mr. Harbison proceeded : 
" Lord, bless the dear sister, his companion, herself but recently 
escaped from death. May she be consoled m spirit, and may 
Providence surround her. Lead her children in the path of 
righteousness ; save them from the sin which is so prevalent in 
the world, and which is worse than death, and lead them to 
honor and glory. May there go up from thousands upon thou- 
sands of sorrowing homes to-day throughout the land an earnest 
prayer for the stricken President. Amen." 
On arising for the sermon Mr. Harbison said : 
" I have here a despatch from brother Power, saying that he 
will reach Washington at 2 p.m. It has been thought proper 
that some time to-day we should spend a while together as a 
church in special prayer-meeting in behalf of the President and 
his family. Under ordinary circumstances I would order the 
meeting held immediately after the close of these services ; 
but, in view of the probability of Brother Power's arrival, I sug- 
gest that it take place at the close of the evening sermon, a little 
before 8 o'clock. Let me read you an announcement just re- 
ceived from the White House: 10 a.m. — The President rested 
quietly and has been greatly refreshed. His improving con- 
dition gives additional hope that he will gradually recover. Pulse 
114; respiration, 18; temperature, about normal. Signed Dr. 
Bliss. I am quite aware," continued the speaker, " that in such 
a time as this people generally, judging by myself, are not well 
qualified to think of much else than the deed—the dark and 
dastardly deed—that has fallen upon us. I suppose that most of 
you, like myself, were stunned, and have scarcely yet become 
restored to a normal condition. But though laboring under these 
difficulties, I will attempt this morning to make some improve- 
ment of the sad circumstances surrounding us, and I do not 
think I can do better, for the glory of God, than to call your 
attention to the thirty-second verse of the fifteenth chapter of 
the First Corinthians : ' If, after the manner of men, I have fought 
the beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me if the dead 
rise not ? Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we 
die.' I selected this subject before the sad calamity of yes- 



222 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

terday occurred, and after it occurred I could see no good rea- 
son for changing it, for it seems to me that there is ground here 
for some practical reflections which we may take to our hearts 
now with deeper importance and greater tenderness. The latter 
part of the text emphasizes the event of yesterday. President 
Garfield starts out in the morning joyfully to meet his friends, 
expecting to renew old acquaintances, to go back to the old col- 
lege days, and to mingle with those whom he had not seen in 
years, and instantly his life is put in peril and the whole nation is 
cast into mourning. O human life, what a slender thread you 
hang by ! Why not get the most pleasure out of it ? Why 
should President Garfield continue to hold affiliation with the 
people meeting in this little church on Vermont Avenue— people 
unpopular, sometimes persecuted, often put to gTeat disadvan- 
tages, on account of their belief ; people recent in independent or- 
ganization, but not recent in principles, which are as old as the 
Christian religion ? And may it not be that this morning, as he 
lies upon his bed of suffering, facing death, he is saying : ' What 
is the good ? Why am I identified with a people like this when 
there are those who fill their sails with the popular breeze with- 
out inconvenience, social or otherwise ? In a moment I am strick- 
en down, and all this goes for nothing if there is no future, no 
resurrection of the dead.' " 

The reverend speaker described and contrasted stoicism and 
epicureanism in ancient Rome, and continued: "We are pass- 
ing through a history very similar to that of Rome. When the 
country was founded, the philosophy of stoicism, born of Puri- 
tanism, was the belief of the people ; but after the days of sim- 
plicity had passed away, there began to be a decadence of the 
philosophy. As wealth increased in a wonderful way, and in- 
ventions multiplied for easing life and bringing all the luxuries and 
advantages that can be secured in physical surrounding, more and 
more the people wanted to believe in materialism, and the grand 
old doctrine began to fall into neglect. It even became unpopular 
in some quarters to say that there was a hell for the wicked, un- 
til now we find that if a man desires a certain kind of popular- 
ity he immediately proclaims himself a materialist. He is sure 
of large audiences and large pay. It is the most paying invest- 
ment a man can make to tell the people that the true Gospel is 
the gospel of good living, and to say, ' Let the other world take 
care of itself.' What is the result ? Just exactly as it was in 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 223 

Rome. The bands of public and private morality are becoming 
relaxed, and men are beginning to treat human life as of no con- 
sideration. Let me read for you from the assassin's letter. He 
says, ' A human life is of small value.' Yes, if we believe that 
human life is no more than that of a horse or a dog, it is surely 
of small value. He goes on : ' Life is a flimsy thing, and it mat- 
ters little if one goes.' Such are the sentiments which the epi- 
curean philosophy of the present day assumes to weave into a 
justification for striking down the President of the United States. 
We have been sowing the wind, and we are reaping the whirl- 
wind. If matters go on as for a few years past, we shall have 
murders and house-burnings and heart-aches ; we shall have such 
a depreciated state of society in this country as old Rome saw 
when her philosophers shunned her gates and sought the retire- 
ment of distant villas for the purpose of escaping the existing 
whirlwinds of passion. Say what you will, that time will come ; 
it IS bound to come. Let me tell you that when pleasure is made 
the chief god selfishness will be on the throne. Each man will 
look to securing his own pleasure at the expense of others. 

" He who studies the movement of American society cannot 
fail to see that we are under a reign of selfishness in striking 
contrast to forty years ago. As one newspaper said this morn- 
ing, office-seeking, oflSce-hunting, and looking after spoils have 
become the main object of life. Each man is trying his best 
to crowd the others out. We are having disgraceful political 
fights, and we may expect to see these scenes intensified. Money, 
money, is the craze all over the land ; get money, no matter 
how, is the popular cry. Why ? Because pleasure is the chief 
end of man. Such is the tone of American society to-day, and 
it grieves me to say it. Its apostles are lionized. The men 
who are stabbing American morals and constitutional govern- 
ment to the vitals are held up as examples to follow and admire. 
I say to you that the President's assassination is directly charge- 
able to this philosophy of good living that is pervading the 
minds of the public to-day, and assassinations will be multiplied 
unless we call a halt. I predict that in less than twenty-five years, 
if matters go on as they are going, we will have the Roman arena 
in this country, and I do not think it improbable that gladiatorial 
combat will be restored. 

"I have thought proper, my dear friends," continued the 
speaker, " to make these remarks to you to-day to call your 



224 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

attention to the calamity whicli has occurred, and to the real 
reason for it. Under the utterances of the assassin we discover 
the principles of epicurean philosophy. May be that God, in 
his goodness, intended to awaken the people when he let the 
head of the nation be stricken. May be he will awaken them. 
One reason why I had hoped against hope for the President's 
restoration to health is that I cannot but think he has a great 
work to perform. Still, it may be that more can be accom- 
plished by his death than by his recovery. I doubt not that 
a great work was accomplished by the death of Abraham Lin- 
coln. I never doubted that his murder was providential. Even 
the assassin who struck with such vengeful fury yesterday may 
have brought good which could not have been secured in any 
other way. Let us pray, if God wishes, that he will continue 
the life of James A. Garfield. [Amen.] It is right in any 
event that our prayers should go up to that end. But if God 
in his providence thinks it better to take James A. Garfield to 
himself, we may be content to see him die. It is a hard thing 
to say, but it may be said. [Sobs.] Whatever the issue, we 
who follow the Christian philosophy may take consolation to 
our hearts that God is working out his own ends, and we 
may trust him. Though the ship of State is now tossing upon 
the billows, we know that God is at the helm of the universe, 
and we may depend upon it that the life or death of the head 
of the nation can only result in calming the ocean and securing 
to the nation peace and blessing." 
The congregation then sang: 

" God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform." 

After communion Mr. Harbison announced that the special 
prayer-meeting would take place at 7.30 o'clock, before the 
sermon. At the conclusion of the service the congregation 
lingered to discuss the latest bulletins, and much joy was ex- 
pressed over the favorable character of the news. 

PRAYING FOR THE PRESIDENT. 

The little Christian Church on Vermont Avenue was packed 
to overflowing in the evening. The heat was intense. At 7.30 
o'clock the pastor, the Rev. Mr. Power, who had arrived from 
Cincinnati during the afternoon, said : 



PBESIDENT GABFIELD. 225 

The purpose of our congregating together for a few moments 
to-night before the usual services is not one that I need enlarge 
upon. It is a matter we can scarcely face. We can say but 
little except to humble ourselves before God, and leave in the 
hands of him who has been the dwelling-place for all genera- 
tions, to work out in his own way our good and the good of 
the nation, as he has always with all the concern we have 
brought to him. No words that I can speak can express the 
depth of feeling of the people all through this country over the 
sad and appalling intelligence. The assassin said, in harmony 
with the infidel teaching of the day, that life is but a flimsy 
dream. Was there ever a falser thought as represented by the 
case of the noble man he smote? That life is gloriously signifi- 
cant to his family, to his friends, to his Christian brethren, and 
to the nation over whom he presides. We all feel as if we 
must bear up before God an earnest prayer that he may be 
spared. He has borne relations to us that make his life 
unspeakably precious in our sight. Scarcely one of the brethren 
who have met him here for years past that does not feel towards 
him as a personal friend, and I know that the sentiment of the 
brethren all over the country, in one united voice, goes up to 
God in his behalf this hour." 

The reverend gentleman then delivered an earnest prayer that 
the life of the President might be spared, and for strength to 
be given his wife, mother, and children. He was followed by 
the Rev. Mr. Harbison and several of the deacons in a similar 
strain. The entire congregation then knelt and prayed together. 
The scene was very affecting, sobs being audible all over the 
church. Mr. Harbison then arose and said : " I am free to say, dear 
brethren, that I have never been at a meeting where I have felt 
so deeply, we have been so long in the enjoyment of Christian 
fellowship with President Garfield." After relating several 
anecdotes of the President's deep religious feeling, the speaker 
continued : 

" I have found nobody in Washington who did not say we 
esteem, admire, and love the man. A gentleman high in posi- 
tion said to me yesterday, ' I believe him to be as true and 
pure a man as ever lived.' I was much struck with the reported 
remark of Secretary Blaine, immediately after the shooting : 
* I can't see why any man would kill President Garfield. He 
would injure no one.' There wasn't a trace of malice in his 
10* 



226 THE A88A88INATT0N OF* 

composition, and to-night, when we have come to bear him up 
before the throne of grace, the solemnity deepens as I think of 
the possibiHty that his terrible wound may become fatal. I don't 
like to think about it, because the people, the nation, the world 
needs him. We can ill spare a man of his sort. . . . When, 
yesterday afternoon, I saw his wife come up those stairs and 
enter the room which contained nearly all that was precious to her 
in life, I asked myself, ' Is it possible that this woman's heart 
will not break ? ' All others were excluded from the room where 
he lay, while she entered and quietly imprinted the kiss of love 
upon his lips and exchanged loving words with him. As I sat 
there, fearing the result, she emerged, her eyes suffused with 
tears, and was soon engaged in her work of love and affection. 
Whether our beloved President lives or dies I believe that God 
has great ends to serve in the disposal of his servant. Shortly 
after receiving the nomination to the Presidency, Gen. Garfield 
said to me : ' I don't know how this has come about; but one 
thing is certain, if I am defeated I will not be so greatly disap- 
pointed as some of my friends will be. If I am elected, I will 
believe there is some purpose in it. I will wait and see.' Dur- 
ing that campaign I was so deeply impressed with the notion 
that assassination lay before him that I sat down in my study one 
day and actually half wrote a letter of warning to him ; but then 
I reflected, ' What am I doing ? What reason can I give ? He 
will think it a mere whim ' — and I tore the letter up. I don't 
know to-day why I acted thus, but I had the presentiment and 
I could not shake it off. Even should he die I believe that God, 
who has guided us so long, will still do so. As Gen. Garfield 
himself said when Lincoln fell, ' Lincoln is dead, but the nation 
lives.' Let us as Christians realize that everything is in the 
hands of God, and pray for the President and his family. If the 
dark pall does at last settle over us and the flags 'are placed at 
half-mast, and evidences of mourning are seen all over the land, 
let us be ready to say, ' Not my will, but thine, Lord, be 
done.' " 

The Rev. Mr. Power also addressed the assemblage. He said, 
among other things : 

" In a letter which President Garfield wrote to me after 
receiving the nomination, he used these words, indicative of the 
guiding spirit of his life, ' I know not how it may turn out, 
but I have always tried to meet the duty of every day as it 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 527 

came. I left the rest to God.' He and his wife both seemed 
to look forward to peculiar trials when he should assume his 
present position. After the nomination Mrs. Garfield said to 
me, ' I do not know what responsibilities will come on us, but 
I feel that God will prepare us to meet them.' " 

It was after nine o'clock when the gathering reluctantly 
broke up. 

DR. STORRS'S DISCOURSE. 

A Prayer for the Presidents recovery— Eulogy of Gen. Garfield. 

The morning service in the Rev. Dr. Storrs's Church, in Brook- 
lyn, was conducted with special reference to the critical condi- 
tion of the President. Before beginning the devotional exer- 
cises. Dr. Storrs read a despatch he had just received from 
Washington, dated 10 a.m., saying that the President's state 
became more hopeful every hour ; and that Sir Edward Thorn- 
ton had just telegraphed the Queen, that there was great hope 
of ultimate recovery. Dr. Storrs then read a part of the 13th 
chapter of Hebrews : " Remember them which have the rule over 
you, who have spoken unto you the word of God ; whose faith 
follow, considering the end of their conversation." In the 
prayer that followed, he prayed for all who are in danger. 
"Remember," he asked, "in infinite compassion and love, the 
President of the United States. Thou knowest how precious is 
his life in the sight of all this people. Restore him ; give him 
entire recovery if it please Thee. Make him only more sensible 
of his obligations to Thee. Restore him that he may serve Thee. 
We thank Thee that our worst fears, thus far, have not been 
realized. Bring him up, and grant that his life may be illustri- 
ous, in holiness and usefulness, for many years to come." The 
subject of the sermon was " The Insecurity of Human Life." 
" When yesterday there came tidings," the speaker said, " that 
the President of the United States had been struck by the bullet 
of an intending assassin, we were all startled and grieved. He 
was hurled, instantly, into the very shadow of death. All the 
circumstances surrounding the shooting were as sadly tragical as 
could have been conceived by any imagination. Pushed up by 
his own exertions from the lowest grades of life to posts of honor, 
he has reached the highest position in the gift of the people. 
What he has done so far has commended itself to the majority 



228 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

of the people. His term of oflSce, brief as it lias been, has been 
marked by integrity, honor, progress and prosperity. He was 
going to meet the wife who has also been in the shadow of 
death. He was going, too, to meet his college friends, and assist 
in their anniversary exercises. In the midst of a circle of friends, 
and apparently in the utmost security, he fell by the shot of an 
assassin. It seems the very irony of fate for the greatest life on 
the continent to fall at such a moment and by such a hand, after 
he had gone safely through the shot and shell of battle. It is 
not merely the individual life that is threatened. His death im- 
plies changes in the policy and all the officers of the Government. 
We cannot tell what. It is a sarcasm on the wisdom that framed 
our Government that one insane hand should have the opportu- 
nity to give such new direction for years to come to the policy 
of the Administration. All the world is watching that point at 
AVashington. The whole continent pauses in its work and in 
its pleasure, and it gives us an example, too, of our wonderful 
advance. Fifty years ago such an event would hardly have been 
known through the country for weeks and weeks. Now it is the 
talk of the world. AVhen AYilliam of Orange was assassinated, 
almost exactly 300 years ago, on the lOtli of July, 1584, it seemed 
as if everything must go down. The principles of liberty were 
not destroyed even when Henry of Navarre was killed, 26 years 
later, in the streets of Paris. When Lincoln died at the hands 
of an assassin, 16 years ago, the whole nation turned sick at 
heart. But that death did not interrupt the principles of liberty, 
on account of which Lincoln died. " Isn't this Government 
going to be Mexicanized ?" I have frequently heard asked within 
the last 24 hours. Never while we trust in God. The sea and 
land will change places sooner, while our principles remain, than 
our Government can be revolutionized. Two utterances from 
the President since his injury have touched me very much. One 
was concerning that brave little woman, his wife. The other was 
when he said to the doctors, ' Do not be afraid to tell me the 
worst ; you know I am not afraid to die.' " At the conclusion of 
the sermon, Dr. Storrs read another despatch from Washington 
announcing that the President was still improving. 

THE REV. R. S. MACARTHUR. 

An earnest and sympathetic discourse on the attempted assas- 
sination of President Garfield was preached yesterday by the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 229 

Rev. R. S. MacArthur, pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, 
New York. In his prayer, Dr. MacArthur iinpressively invoked 
the divine blessing upon this smitten, stricken, and sorrowing 
nation. " We pray this morning," he said, " as we have never 
prayed before for the President of these United States. May 
his noble life be spared, and may the designs of the wicked 
assassin be frustrated. May the attending doctors be given wis- 
dom in their examinations and prescriptions, so that the life of 
the President will be saved." The text of the discourse was 
chosen from the nineteenth verse of the first chapter of Second 
Samuel — " How are the mighty fallen !" Such was the lan- 
guage used by David, said the preacher, in his tender and touch- 
ing lament over the death of Saul. Each word seems heavy 
with a sigh and broken with a sob, and although the lapse of 
ages has intervened since their utterance, many persons will con- 
template that stirring exclamation with peculiar significance at 
this time. A nearer sorrow prevails throughout this broad land. 
In thousands of families hearts are bleeding and tears are fall- 
ing, and from thousands of hearthstones prayers are going up 
for this stricken and afflicted country. Only a few months ago 
James A. Garfield was inaugurated President of the United 
States, and no Administration ever opened more auspiciously. 
The country was at peace and prosperity prevailed everywhere. 
His friends were legion and his enemies few, although some of 
the latter were shamefully bitter. General Garfield enjoyed the 
reputation of being a brave and honorable gentleman, a scholar 
and a statesman, and the entire country looked upon his open- 
ing Administration with confidence and favor. When the 
President's noble wife was stricken down by serious illness the 
great heart of the nation throbbed with sincere sympathy for 
the anxious family, and it was with the deepest regret, too, that 
the people watched the clouds of political trouble that hung 
threateningly over the President's head. But recently all these 
troubles seemed to be passing away. Domestic and political 
affairs were assuming a more cheerful aspect, and plans were 
being made by the President and his family for a peaceful and 
happy summer. The speaker said that since he had known any- 
thing of American politics, he had watched with interest the 
career of General Garfield. The latter was a man of pure and 
unsullied character, and had been singularly fortunate in his 
political life. Little did President Garfield imagine on Satur- 



230 "THE A88A88INATI0N OF 

day morning that before night he would be lying on his bed 
mortally wounded, his soul hovering on the borders of the 
other world. The suddenness of Saturday's tragedy reveals in 
its most comprehensive form both the duty and beauty of sym- 
pathy. No more kindly feelings have ever been expressed 
by the American people than those which have been freely 
manifested towards the Garfield family. And there is good rea- 
son for this condition of public feeling. Mr. and Mrs. Garfield 
are of the people, self-educated and self-made. Not only was 
General Garfield honored for his great intellectual attainments 
and broad statesmanship, but Mrs. Garfield also commanded uni- 
versal admiration for her noble, womanly traits and her superior 
mental abilities. It is something for the American people to be 
proud of that their President's wife should be able to converse 
with many of the representatives of foreign countries in their 
native language. One of the most significant thoughts sug- 
gested by this attempted murder of the President is, said the 
speaker, the great importance that attaches to the selection of a 
Vice-President. How remote has been the expectation that 
General Arthur would ever become President of the United 
States. During the last few months many persons have felt 
very much dissatisfied with the conduct of our Vice-President. 
Those who remembered his honored father have frequently 
had occasion to wish that the son possessed some of that ster- 
ling sense of dignity and honor that characterized the senior 
Arthur. But Chester A. Arthur was elected Vice-President to 
do the bidding of one man, and most faithfully has he dis- 
charged that obligation. A great many Republicans voted for 
him under a silent protest, but now should he be called to the 
Presidential chair we must hope for the best. He will then 
have a great opportunity to set himself right with the people, 
and to win their confidence and respect. Should circumstances 
elevate him to the foremost position in the country, it is to be 
hoped that he will lay aside all factional feeling, forget all per- 
sonal prejudices and obligations and be the true representative 
of the whole people. How little did the shrewdest politicians 
in Washington and Albany imagine that such a radical change 
in the political affairs of the nation could occur as that which 
now threatens us. In the act of the cowardly assassin there 
appears still another lesson. The man whose wicked deed has 
plunged a loving family and a great nation into the deepest 



PBtJSIDENT GARFIELD. ^31 

grief was once a respected and trusted member of society. He 
stood up in church and made a public avowal of his belief and 
faith in God. But afterwards yielding to the baser elements of 
his nature, he began that downward path which has brought 
him to the murderer's cell. His small vices begat larger ones, 
and finally he sank into that state of utter moral demoralization 
which led him to raise his assassin's hand against the first citi- 
zen of his country. From the shocking experience of this 
wretch may be drawn the warning: Beware of the beginning 
of evil. May God save our young men from sin, for it is 
obvious now to every mind how the criminal act of one man can 
plunge a nation into despair. In all of this tribulation, however, 
none should forget the power and wisdom of the Almighty. 
God rules supreme, and if His ways at times seem harsh and 
inscrutable, they are, nevertheless, fraught with some purpose 
of His own which is destined for our good. As Abraham Lin- 
coln lives to-day in the hearts of an affectionate people, so will 
James Abram Garfield live, even though he may die. In con- 
clusion. Dr. MacArthur impressively remarked : " We lift our 
hearts to God to-day, praying that he may stay the hand of 
wickedness and murder in this great and prosperous land." 

REMARKS OF DR. BELLOWS. 

A timely, patriotic, and eloquent sermon was delivered yes» 
terday morning by the Rev. W. H. Bellows, D.D., in the Church 
of All Souls, New York. It was devoted mainly to a review of 
our political system as organized, operated, and controlled by 
the " machine." At the conclusion of his remarks upon this 
topic, in which he condemned the course of the present machine 
managers as exhibited at Albany, Dr. Bellows referred to the 
calamity which has just fallen upon the country. " The report 
that reached us," he said, " seemed too terrible to be credible. 
So blameless, so free from personal enemies, so growing upon 
the confidence and respect of the people had our President 
been, and so calm and tranquil was the country under his be- 
nign administration ; so little sectional animosity was left in the 
land and so little divided were the people upon the main policy 
of the Government, that never did a calamity of this frightful 
magnitude burst out of a clearer sky ! It was as if the beautiful 
comet in our northern horizon bad suddenly swooped down 



^32 TBE ASSASSINATION OF 

upon the peaceful observers of its course, or the millions that 
looked wonderingly upon its meteoric splendors, and dashed the 
earth out of its orbit and heaped the cosmos in ruins. God 
knows what hopes are centred in the life and energy, the 
statesmanship and patriotism of our President, the first for 
many terms who possessed the claims of a trained and experi- 
enced legislator, upon the exalted office he filled. It seemed 
almost a happy accident when party tactics put the right 
man in the right place, and made a candidate as fit for 
the office as any in the country the nominee of a tri- 
umphant party and at last the President of the nation ! And 
now, in a moment, and by the brutal shot of a disappointed 
office-seeker, our President lies half dead and in danger of 
mortal dissolution, while the national heart on the eve of its 
greatest festival is shocked into a fearful suspense, and waits 
with alternate hopes and fears upon the hourly bulletins from 
the bloody chamber where his stalwart frame and manly vigor 
of constitution struggle uncertainly with the angel of death. 
There is great alleviation of our sorrow in the fact that thus 
far no evidence appears of political conspiracy or of sectional 
or party backing in the frantic act of personal caprice and way- 
ward madness that has laid low our yesterday erect and vigor- 
ous chief ruler. If he dies, he dies by the hand of one of his 
own party and one of his own Western fellow-citizens; an 
obscure person, without political significance or following, 
wholly unknown in social or public life. It is painfully true 
that this madman claims some party reasons for his conduct, 
and excuses himself by the necessity of putting out of the way 
an obstacle to the full power of one of the factions in the mis- 
erable, and now become fatal, quarrel of the Republican party. 
There is no reason for thinking he had any prompting or sup- 
port from those who may benefit by the not improbable vacancy 
to be created in the Presidential chair. But it is probable, if 
not certain, that the animosity, the personal abuse, the unseemly 
and exaggerated tone and character of the quarrel in the party, 
aggravated by virulence of the press, has suggested the dreadful 
act of violence that now appalls those who fomented it. It was 
less inexcusable that sectional bitterness and hate should have 
bred, while a fearful war between North and South was still 
going on, the murderous spirit that animated the assassination 
of Abraham Lincoln ! But that a mere quarrel over party spoils 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. ^33 

should have been able to poison the brain and nerve the arm of 
a fanatic to slay, not a personal enemy, not his injurer, and not 
a direct party to the strife, but the beloved and honored Presi- 
dent of the nation, in a time of peace and prosperity, when 
parties have hardly issues enough left open to keep up a decent 
division, is one of the saddest of warnings whither our disgrace- 
ful squabbles within party lines may lead. Is it not a new argu- 
ment for putting the spoils of office out of party poHtics when 
madness, suicide, and murder wait upon its inspiration ? Let us 
hope that the country will come to its senses, and the party in 
question to its stool of repentance, when it sees what conse- 
quences follow on the orgies and accusations and malicious 
counter cries of factions in Albany and elsewhere.*' Alas for the 
day when a second President of the United States welters in the 
blood of assassination ! What unjust, but what injurious, im- 
pressions are already left on the European mind by this repe- 
tition of the unnatural crime of murdering, not a tyrant, an 
emperor, a king, but an elective President ! How will Russian 
absolutists rejoice to see the horrors of Nihilistic crimes out- 
done by the children of a free State, and how will monarchs 
stiffen and condense the bayonets that guard their thrones when 
even the mildest and justest rulers over the equal citizens of the 
most happy and prosperous people cannot move about in their 
capital withoirt danger to life from assassins ? It is dreadful to 
feel what perverse uses will be made of an accident of frenzied 
brains to strengthen hateful tyrannies and to insult and dispar- 
age true and just principles. Let us swear a solemn oath that 
the caprices and follies of freemen shall not weaken our faith in 
liberty, and that the fatal misfortunes that assail our rulers shall 
not be allowed to recoil on the principles for which they stand. 
It would be the last counsel of our noble President were he, 
which God avert, to be called away from us by this atrocious 
act of violence, to stand faithfully by our American principles, 
to defend the ship of State, though pilot after pilot were shot 
down, and to honor and maintain the flag and the freedom of 
the nation against all assailants and all losses — above all against 
the malice of foreign depredators, and, worse than that, against 
the treachery and domestic distrust and party jealousy and the 
feebleness of doubts of God's protection for free institutions or 
of humanity's fitness to receive them. 



234 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



The announcement that the Rev. Dr. J. P. Newman was to 
preach yesterday morning on "The National Calamity" attracted 
an unusually large congregation to the Central Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, New York. The text was from Proverbs xiv., 
24 — " Sin is a reproach to any people." Had James A. Garfield, 
said the preacher, been a Sultan Abdul Aziz, or an Alexander 
II., spending the people's wealth in riotous living, or populating 
some Siberia with the flower of our young manhood, his assassina- 
tion would have found some apologists. But, gentle as a woman, 
kind as a father, trustful as a brother, his would be the death of 
kindness itself. General Garfield was our President, and to you 
and to me he represents the virtue, the civilization, the Christian- 
ity, and intelligence of the Republic ; and not to us only, but 
to the world at large. His politics is a matter of no concern 
to us. Administrating the laws of this great nation, he stood 
in God's place. His murder is not merely regicide ; it is deicide. 
A blow has been aimed at the very throne of Jehovah itself. 
Let us search for the causes that have produced this crime. 
Plainly discernible in the tragedy is the thirst for ofiice, the 
malignity of partisan strife, the inordinate desire for wealth 
and luxury, the unworthy estimate of life and its serious respon- 
sibilities, and the contempt for religion. In politics, slander 
has become the chosen weapon, and defamation of character 
the argument most popular. What can be the influence of this 
evil ? The orations of our leading men — United States senators. 
Congressmen, State legislators, all politicians — teem with vil- 
lainous and contemptible onslaught on reputation, which, if 
uttered in private life, would justly exile their authors forever 
from decent society. Politics has become but the school for 
scandal. 

Another cause which has led up to this assassination is the 
universal grasping after oflace. With all our national brag and 
bluster we have no civil service. Sixty thousand men are incited 
to partisan zeal in a Presidential election by the hope of a for- 
eign mission, a consulate, or a clerkship. Faithful and com- 
petent men are removed to give place to some favorite or 
importunate oflfice-seeker. Every official oflSce in the land is 
on sale. The disgraceful scene recently enacted at Albany 



PRESIDENT QARFIELD $35 

results not from a question of fitness for positions of power and 
trust, but from that other question — who shall wield the patron- 
age of a great State? Men compete for opportunities to lead 
lives of ease and luxury, and they best secure their desires 
through politics. Disappointed or opposed, they resort to des- 
perate methods. This political crime I lay at the door of no 
particular faction. Far from me be the intent of pointing to 
one faction as the embodiment of the devil, and to another as 
the personation of the angel Gabriel. 

Our much-boasted universal suffrage, our power and our shield, 
as in our enthusiasm we are wont to term it, is not without its 
drawbacks, not without its dangers to our nation. I believe in 
popular suffrage to the full ; but in the name of intelligence and 
virtue and common honesty, not to say decency, I am against 
the system that places unrestricted power in the hands of the 
paupers and criminals whom Europe is pouring upon our shores 
by tens of thousands. [Applause, which the preacher found it 
impossible to check.] It is a sad fact, but a notorious one, that 
the ballot has become an article of merchandise. In our last 
municipal election we honestly elected William Dowd Mayor of 
New York ; but late in the day the influence of money was 
brought to bear, and the will of the intelligent and moral voters 
was annulled. Of Mr. Grace I have nothing to say in condem- 
nation. I trust his administration may be pure and successful ; 
he has my heartiest prayers ; yet as he was elected, so are men 
elected in every State and at every election. The republics of 
Rome and Greece went down only after their free franchise was 
corrupted ; after candidates stalked through the streets offering 
bribes to supporters and paying gold for votes. The causes 
which worked out the ruin of those republics is working out 
likewise the ruin of our own. Let us not be blinded to the 
truth and the teachings of history. 



REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER S REMARKS. 

Mr. Beecher's countenance showed great sadness Sunday 
morning when he entered the pulpit of Plymouth Church, 
Brooklyn, and he devoted the eniire service to the tragedy at 
Washington. The church was over-crowded, and many persons 
turned away from the doors unable to find even standing room 
within. The services consisted of appropriate music, special 



236 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

prayers by Mr. Beecher and selections of Scripture, witli 
remarks drawn out by the event which was uppermost in every 
mind. Mr. Beecher was himself affected to tears at times, and 
handkerchiefs were in use in all parts of the audience. The Te 
Deum was sung at the opening of the service, and after a brief 
invocation Mr. Beecher said: — 

We are met under circumstances happily most unusual, and 
it is one of the felicities of the service of our church that we 
are not tied down to any routine, but are free to follow the 
leadings of Providence. To-day, even if I could, I would not 
stand here as a didactic teacher, nor, in the common acceptance 
of the word, as a preacher. Not that there are not great truths 
in the word of God adapted to every emergency, but now and 
then God comes himself, and all men behold his foot-prints 
and hear his voice. When the providence of God speaks as it 
does to-day we must take the text from God himself. 

Again in so short a time death has been aimed at the chief 
citizen of this great nation. The assassin's hand in both 
instances, let us believe, was a hand misguided by a brain more 
misguided — that of the shadows of insanity the aim has twice 
been taken, once fatally, and again, let us hope, in the Provi- 
dence of God without final and fatal result. There were varied 
emotions preceding the election, but only one voice when it 
was determined. When President Garfield was called to the 
head of the Government, he was no longer a candidate, but our 
President, to every citizen of the United States. Every indi- 
vidual had a right to glory in his ripe usefulness, accumulated 
wisdom, honest intent, genial and generous disposition and his 
sanctified ambition, which sought to make, has made and will 
make him a Christian President over a free Christian people. 
When the sun rose yesterday there was no shadow across the 
pathway, full of hope and promise. When it rose to-day the 
people were in sorrow from ocean to ocean, and, indeed, deep 
called to deep. And now to-day, on this Sabbath morning, and 
because it is a Sabbath morning, and on this our communion 
service, and because it is our communion service, our thoughts 
are called from usual themes of discourse and dwell upon this 
calamity. May a great blessing come out of it, let us pray. 

Now that the heart of the nation is cool, all men have a 
generous and just appreciation of the value to the nation of the 
man who lies on the bed of suffering and peril. I am not sur- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 237 

prised at this. When the sound echoed over our whole land of 
his peril, there was no party, no advocate or adversaries ; we 
were all citizens and not politicians. We are all on one side. 
If some unmannerly tongue has given utterance to rude and 
coarse remarks, we must think that it is the hasty utterance of 
ignorance and not the deliberate of a sane mind. Men shook 
hands with the pressure of grief at the sad news, and eyes were 
dim. All men had the same sentiment. All heads were bowed 
as if in the very presence of the God who dwells in darkness 
and were awed by his power. It is related by naturalists that 
in countries where freshets and floods prevail, when animals are 
driven by the water to take refuge together in the high ground 
and are bearded by a common terror, they forget their animos- 
ities and evil designs and dwell in peace. The rabbit and the 
fox, the lamb and the wolf, the bear and the deer and the ser- 
pent in common peril dwell quietly together and forget opposi- 
tion. Many not wont to pray silently petitioned God to spare 
the life of the honored and beloved President. 

Mr. Beecher then read the 39th and 41st Psalms. He 
read with especial feeling this verse : " The Lord will strengthen 
him upon the bed of languishing ; Thou wilt make all his bed 
in his sickness." 

After the reading Mr. Beecher said : " Let us join the millions 
who are making the space between heaven and earth thick 
with prayers, besieging the throne of God, that he will have 
compassion on the nation and spare the life of the President." 
He then prayed as follows : O Lord, who hast been good to this 
nation in days gone by; who hast sent wars, famines and pes- 
tilences, and withal a growing benefit ; who hast rebuked our 
transgression and washed it away with blood ; who made 
the sun to rise after the night and darkness of war; who 
then smote the shepherd in the fold, but did not sufEer the 
nation to be destroyed, but restored tranquillity in all its bounds, 
and again in thy mysterious way hast stretched out thy hand 
to touch thy beloved, and suffered him to be struck down, and 
filled the house of light and joy with darkness and trouble — 
Lord, wilt thou not stay thy hand ? Do thou hold in wisdom 
and knowledge those who minister to the President. Endue 
them with divine knowledge. Sustain his strength. Many have 
been shattered on the battle-field and given over for dead, and 
yet now live. Enable him to endure the ordeal. Even if 



238 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

through months of suffering, bring him to light. Through a 
long recovery may thy servant be restored to us. Show the 
light of thy countenance to him. Thou hast eased him of care, 
and shut him up in thy pavilion. May no outward obligation 
trouble him ; may his heart rest in thee. May hope in Christ 
come as the light of the morning to him, and may he be stayed 
in God in perfect tranquillity. Lord God! is thy heart 
hardened? Is thine ear heavy, or thy hand shortened? Thou 
couldst bring Christ from the dead — canst thou not restore 
health on the border of the grave ? Death is not mightier than 
thou ! Thou who seest the heart, knowest how the poor and 
needy hope in him, and how the whole people unite in beseech- 
ing that the President may not pass from us. May the Holy 
Ghost fill the house with light and comfort and the balm of 
consolation. Hear thy servants at thine altars ! Strangers are 
pleading ; not strangers in a common grief. Be thou generous, 
thou who art mighty in mercy ; bring hope before the sun goes 
down. Send from the house of desire, not only the word that 
he is better, but the hope and joy of restoration. And what 
shall we promise thee, or what can we give thee ? Thou givest 
all to us ; we can give nothing to thee but our gratitude. We 
will live better and seek to please thee. Regard the desire of 
millions. Lord, God of thy servants in ancient days, in wrath 
remember mercy ; restore our sick and establish him in health, 
and to thy adorable name will be praise forever more. 

At the conclusion of the prayer the choir sang " Beyond the 
smiling and the weeping I shall be soon," and Mr. Beecher said : 

The first effect of such an astounding event as this is apt to 
be confusion and fear. As in an earthquake men lose their 
trust in the solidity and safety of those things in which their 
life is built ; so when God rends the heavens and a blow is 
struck at the centre of our affections, we ask, What can happen 
next ? What will the end be ? Fortunately for us, in all this 
we need not look for an unfavorable issue in the providence of 
God. There is nothing to fear except the evils incident to pros- 
perous times. Such is the nature of free, intelligent govern- 
ment by an educated common people, that the strength of the 
government is not in itself at all. No official taken away shakes 
the fabric. There have been times when the ends of the earth 
seemed to rest on single men. Such was Moses to Israel, Wash- 
ington to us, Cromwell to England, Cavour to Italy, Bismarck 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 239 

to Germany, Thiers and Gambetta to France. Were they taken, 
it would seem as if the buttresses were gone and the bridge 
must go too. These are extreme cases. In our history, when, 
the war not done, our proudest leader, our distinguished and 
noble head, now our revered martyr — Lincoln — was taken, it 
seemed as if all was at an end. But nothing suffered. We 
have not planted power in any department of government. The 
power is in the people themselves, and they lend it. If the hand 
using the power falls, the power is left. The nation stands four 
square, as the pyramids stand, but not desolate, and not on the 
bare sand. But around it are as many men as grains of sand 
around the Egyptian pyramids. Taking the head would not 
('hange one great interest. There would be no less ships to sail 
or building in the stocks; warehouses would be no fewer; 
wheels in factories would be no less ; the hand would work at 
the anvil the same ; and the plough would scour in the soil. 
Business would flow on with no check ; no school, academv, or 
college would be put out ; no church would be closed. The 
nation is broad, various, strong, and immovable. Until it rots 
at the sills by its own infidelity and corruption it will stand as 
unmoved as the mountains. We are spared anxiety from na- 
tional peril. Other hands would take the reins of government 
if death should relax the hands now holding. Every depart- 
ment would go on the same, and all interests would be 
advanced. 

But there are lessons for the nation in this. If we review the 
(lays of passion and partisan conflict as we now stand by the side 
of the sufferer, we may learn much. We are likely, in the heat 
of politics, to destroy all reverence for the Chief Magistrate. No 
man seeks position without losing reputation, and he is fortunate 
if character is not lost also. In this moment of sorrow we may 
see the evil of exaggeration and the injury and wrong of excess. 
Our father's God is ours. \ On such an occasion it seems proper 
to recognize God's great mercy. Our feelings are different than 
at the time of Lincoln's assassination. Then we were in the 
dark and troubled period of the war. A storm was in the sky 
and a tremor in the earth. There was just occasion for appre- 
hension and fear. But it passed; our grief did not, but our fear 
did. There is no fear to-day. Twice in so few years has God 
plucked down the head of the Government in widely different 
conditions. Then, in the war time, the sky was overclouded; 



240 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

now there is no scud of cloud in the sky. The nation is secure 
and happy in content and peace. This is the echo of the stroke 
which took the crowned head in Russia. In that anomalous 
people, spread abroad, of mixed races, in an inchoate condition, 
the stroke of death was precipitated on the Czar. It was a spurt 
of lightning out of the Russian storm-cloud, ever liable to send 
forth the lances of death. But here we were shut in from 
violence, with no stroke within or storm without. It was a 
wandering and wanton shot that struck. It came from no 
palace, no army, no subterranean depths, but from a lunatic 
asylum came that arrow of death. In our affliction let our pray- 
ers ascend to the God of our fathers not to forget us. 

The 80th Psalm, a supplication for mercy, was then read by 
Mr. Beecher, and he again prayed. He prayed that this nation, 
which had been lifted up by God and set down in wrath, might 
have this event overruled to its good. He prayed for all the 
people in this out-spread land, where all nations are gathered — 
for the Chinaman, the Japanese, the Indian and the Russian who 
came to these shores ; for all who came from Europe's fertile 
plains and rugged mountains — that they might agree in this 
land and this nation might be saved from intestine feuds. 

After a hymn had been sung by the congregation, Mr. 
Beecher again rose and said. It is not fitting that we should go 
hence before we remember the stricken family of President 
Garfield in their exquisite suffering. In England noble women 
are educated for public affairs, and when put in places of honor 
they demean themselves with peculiar propriety. We are a 
democratic-republican people, and our women are educated par- 
ticularly for domesticity and seclusion. It is a matter for con- 
gratulation when the President of the nation has reached his 
high position that he has a wife and household who know how 
to become their elevated station as if born heirs to titles and 
courts. If we look at the wives of the Presidents we see almost 
not a single cloud in the long succession. The succession is not 
changed. When that model in the family relation, Mrs. Hayes, 
left the White House it seemed as though an equal to her dis- 
tinguished worth, as mother, wife and woman that had rejoiced 
the hearts of the people not could be found. But Mrs. Garfield, 
while differing much, is worthy to succeed her and need not fear 
to compare with any of her predecessors. She has just come up 
from the borders of death only to meet her husband in peril. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 241 

Then there is the venerable mother, who should have long pre- 
ceded her son, who now seems likely to come after him. To-day 
if there is any woman here with a heart to pray for the stricken 
family and who remembers the sanctities of the household, let 
her seek God's blessing on the smitten family. 

Mr. Beecher then prayed with deep and earnest feeling for 
the President's mother and wife and his children. There was 
scarcely a dry eye among the women in the church when he had 
ended, and tears found their way to the eyes of many men. In 
closing the petition he said : " Wilt Thou sustain the wounded 
man ! And if the way of darkness shall open for him — which 
must open some time for all feet to tread — wilt God be gracious 
and enable him to say, ' I fear no evil ; Thy rod and thy staff, 
they comfort me.' May there come to us a voice of triumph 
from beyond. Lord God of our fathers ! Our God ! Comfort 
the family, the Government, the nation and the country, and 
enable all to say earnestly, no matter what the event may be. 
'Thy wiU be done.'" 
11 



243 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 



THE EIGHTY DAYS' STRUGGLE FOR LIFE. 



REVIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE PATIENT FROM THE DAY HB 
WAS SHOT TO THE DAY OF HIS DEATH HIS RELAPSES DE- 
SCRIPTION OF THE OPERATIONS THE REMOVAL TO LONG 

BRANCH HIS LAST DAYS. 

President Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at about 
twenty minutes past 9 on the morning of Saturday, July 2, in 
the Baltimore and Potomac Railway station, a few minutes 
before he was to take the train from Washington to New York, 
on his way for a trip through New England. The rumor im- 
mediately became current that he was dead. This was believed 
for the moment, and produced the wildest excitement every- 
where. It was soon contradicted, however. 

At Washington all was confusion and alarm. The wounded 
man was taken to a room in the station, where he vomited. 
Drs. Bliss, Reyburn, and several other physicians were hastily 
summoned, and a preliminary examination of the wound was 
made. It was found that the ball, which was of 44 calibre, 
fired from a pistol of the British " bull-dog" pattern, had pene- 
trated the back about four inches to the right of the spinal 
column, and subsequently it was learned that it had fractured 
the eleventh rib. Its course was downward and forward. In a 
few minutes the President was removed to the W^hite House in 
an ambulance, and at 11.30 a.m. it was ofiicially announced 
that he had returned to his normal condition, and that his pulse 
was 63. In the afternoon the reaction took place, and the 
patient's pulse at 7 p.m. stood at 140. He was reported to be 
bleeding internally, and it was not deemed best to probe the 
wound for the ball. On the arrival of Mrs. Garfield from Long 
Branch, early in the evening, the President became easier, and 
his pulse fell to 112. It was at this time supposed that the 
right lobe of the liver had been penetrated, and it was thought 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 243 

that the ball was embedded either in this organ or in the an- 
terior wall of the abdoraen. Nausea and vomiting had occurred 
during the day. In the course of the night the sick man com- 
plained of pains in his feet, indicating that a main nerve in his 
back had been affected by the ball. Few people expected him 
to live. Sunday was a day of alternating hopes and fears. In 
the morning he seemed brighter, but in the evening his pulse 
rose to 120. Peritoneal inflammation was feared. The 10.30 
p.m. bulletin was signed by Surgeon-General Barnes and Dr. 
J. J. Woodward in addition to Drs. Bliss and Reyburn. Mon- 
day morning Dr. D. Hayes Agnew, of Philadelphia, and Dr. 
Frank H. Hamilton, of New York, arrived in Washington, 
having been summoned at the request of Mrs. Garfield, and 
approved of the course which had been taken by the attending 
physicians. In the morning bulletin the tympanites (swelling 
of the abdomen) was referred to as not having increased. The 
President vomited slightly during the day. Dr. Agnew, it was 
reported, stated that the kidneys and stomach were uninjured, 
but that the liver had been lacerated. Altogether it was a 
dismal Fourth of July all over the country. 

DREAD GIVING PLACE TO HOPE. 

On Tuesday a more cheerful feeling prevailed. The Presi- 
dent was able to retain food, and the organs of the lower part 
of the abdomen were found to be uninjured. He did not vomit 
during Monday night, and the dispatches sent to Drs. Agnew 
and Hamilton, who had returned home, were encouraging. 
His pulse varied from 106 to 114. A consultation of medical 
men was held to consider the question of reducing the tem- 
perature in the sick-room, but nothing definite was done until 
several days later. Wednesday, July 6, the encouraging symp- 
toms were continued. For the first time since the day he was 
shot the wounded man's pulse fell to below 100, it being 98 at 
8.30 a.m., and the first crisis was thought to be passed. He 
passed a comparatively comfortable day, although the weather 
was very hot, and asked for substantial food. A simple arrange- 
ment to reduce the temperature of the room by the absorp- 
tion and evaporation of ice-water gave some relief. The next 
day the patient's face presented a slightly jaundiced appear- 
ance ; the bulletins were encouraging. On Friday his pulse and 
temperature were higher than on the day before, a slight fever 



244 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

being caused by tbe suppuration of the wound. In the morn- 
ing bulletin it was announced that the wound had begun to dis- 
charge healthy pus. The President took more nourishment 
than usual. Saturday, July 9, the beginning of the second 
week, was also a hopeful day. The patient was in excellent 
spirits, and the bulletins were reassuring. On Sunday, July 10, 
the attending physicians telegraphed to Drs. Hamilton and 
Agnew that such slight changes as had occurred were for the 
better. Reference was made from time to time in these dis- 
patches to the consulting surgeons of the morphine and quinine 
that were administered. The patient's pulse ranged from 102 
to 108. The discharge of pus continued to be favorable. On 
Monday recovery was pronounced probable, and with the 
exception of the work upon the refrigerating machines the day 
was uneventful. The next few days showed what was thought 
to be continued improvement. The fever was less marked, and 
the patient's appetite was better. On Thursday, July 14, Pro- 
fessors Bell and Taintor arrived at Washington for the purpose 
of experimenting, in the hope by the aid of electrical instru-'' 
ments of determining the position of the ball in the President's 
body. On Saturday, July 16, solid food was relished. The 
patient seemed to be gaining strength daily, and the bulletins 
were gratifying though monotonous. There were said to be no 
indications of pyaemia. In view of his apparently steady pro- 
gress toward convalescence it was decided to issue only a morn- 
ing and evening bulletin. Solid food was eaten with great 
relish on Sunday, and the President expressed a desire to take 
a ride down the river. His pulse during these days was gene- 
rally below 100, and sometimes down to below 90. The follow- 
ing few days were uneventful. The patient appeared to be 
improving, his appetite was good, and the wound was regarded 
as in a healthy condition. Occasionally his pulse would rise 
higher than usual, but this was said to be due to some minor 
causes. On Friday some fibres of cloth and a small piece of 
bone were discharged from the wound with the pus, and the 
afternoon fever was more marked than usual. 

THE patient's FIRST RELAPSE. 

Saturday, July 23, however, three weeks after he was shot, 
was a day of anxiety. The previous night the patient had been 
restless, and at 7 a.m. he had a chill which was followed by a 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 245 

fever. At 11.30 a.m. he had another chill, and at 12.30 p.m. 
his pulse was 125, temperature 104, and respiration 26. The 
wound failed to discharged pus readily, and it was thought that 
a pus cavity had been formed. The patient vomited several 
times during the morning. Drs. Agnew and Hamilton were 
hastily summoned, and went to Washington by special train. 
This was the first serious relapse that the President had had 
since he recovered from the first effects of the wound, and the 
feeling of alarm and anxiety was widespread. The physicians 
denied that pyaemia had set in. Other chills followed, and on 
the following morning Dr. Agnew performed an operation to 
relieve the pus cavity which had formed a few inches below 
where the ball entered the President's body. The cut was 
about an inch in length and three quarters of an inch in depth, 
and extended into the original wound. At night it was found 
that the pus from the wound was draining through the new 
opening. This operation relieved the President, and the fever 
diminished. He was free from nausea, and his temperature was 
lower. The flow of pus became as free as usual. The patient 
bore the operation without flinching. In the course of this 
operation it was found that the eleventh rib had suffered a com- 
pound fracture. It was broken in two places and bent inward. 
Dr. Reyburn was quoted as saying that there were no indications 
of blood poisoning, and the following day Dr. Bliss expressed 
the same opinion. Malaria attacked several of the attendants 
at the White House, but the President was said to be free from 
any malarial symptoms. 

On Monday, July 25, the patient seemed to be recovering 
from the effects of his relapse. The discharge of pus was 
healthy, and the pulse ranged from 96 to 110. On the whole 
it was thought that the new trouble with the wound was only 
transient. Tuesday was a day of panics in Washington over 
wild and absurd rumors as to the President's condition which 
were not warranted by the facts. Again he seemed to be on 
the road to recovery, and fear gave way to a more confident 
feeling. At the forenoon dressing a splinter of rib half an inch 
long was removed from the wound. Dr. Hamilton, who was not 
alone in his opinion, expressed the belief that the ball had 
lodged in the right iliac fossa — that is, in the lower part of the 
abdomen, on the right side, twelve inches or more from its 
point of entrance. Cheering reports continued as to the pro- 



246 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

gress of the patient. His good spirits returned, and his appe- 
tite was excellent. On Thursday, July 28, he was moved into 
an adjoining room while the sick-chamber was thoroughly 
cleaned. On Friday the symptoms continued favorable, and his 
ultimate recovery was confidently anticipated. The wound ap- 
peared to be in good condition, and the patient rested well and 
relished his nourishment. Solid food was taken on the follow- 
ing day. His pulse on that day — Saturday, July 30 — varied 
from 92 to 104. On Monday, August 1, the electric induction 
P balance was tried, and the approximate position of the ball was 
i determined. This confirmed the opinion of the surgeons that 
the ball lay in the front wall of the abdomen, about five inches 
below and to the right of the navel, and just over the groin. 
So long as it caused no trouble it was thought best not to at- 
tempt to remove it. In the following few days the reports were 
all encouraging. The President's voice was natural, he took 
nourishment in the usual quantities, and the febrile symptoms 
were not such as to cause alarm. His recovery was regarded as 
only a question of time. It was thought that the ball was be- 
coming encysted. The noon bulletin was again omitted. The 
patient slept without the aid of morphine. 

AW OPERATION PERFORMED. 

Nothing of moment occurred until Monday, August 8. The 
fever on the preceding few days had caused some apprehen- 
sions in the minds of the surgeons, and it was thought to be due 
to some impediment to the flow of pus. The mouth of the 
original wound had nearly healed, and the incision which was 
made to relieve the pus sac had become somewhat clogged by 
f the rib. Accordingly the patient was given ether, and a new 
: channel for the outflow of pus was cut by Dr. Agnew below 
the twelfth rib. It was about three and a half inches deep, and 
extended into the track of the ball. The operation brought on 
nausea, and the patient's pulse rose to 118, but soon fell to 100. 
The flow of pus through the new channel was satisfactory, 
and the patient was reUeved. The next day, Tuesday, the 
patient's condition was encouraging. Solid food, however, was 
dispensed with for a time. On Wednesday, the President 
signed a paper of extradition in the case of an escaped Canadian 
forger. His fever was less marked than on the day before. 
Koumiss (fermented mare's milk) and some easily digested 






']^^uJi-pL t>-\-J^ /-\-^-vA,o /;,^t,v_At /t/_lt<_ 






JAMES A GARFIELD'S LETTER TO HIS MOTHER-THE LAST 
ONE EVER WRITTEN BY HIM. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 247 

solid food were relished. The fever resulting from the operation 
had abated on Thursday, and the patient's symptoms were very 
favorable, and he wrote the following letter to his mother, 
which now has a peculiar and historical interest, as it is the 
last letter ever written by him : 

Washington, D. C, » 

August 11, 1881. j 
Dear Mother : Don't be disturbed by conflicting reports 
about my condition. It is true I am still weak and on my 
back, but I am gaining every day, and need only time and 
patience to bring me through. 

Give my love to all the relatives and friends, especially to 
to sisters Hetty and Mary. 

Your loving son, James A. Garfield. 
Mrs. Eliza Garfield, Hiram, Ohio. 

On the following day, Friday, Dr. Bliss, whose finger became 
inoculated with pus from the President's wound, was taken sick. 
The pulse of the President still continued rather higher than was* 
wished, but this was not regarded as alarming. The wound on 
Saturday was said to be granulating finely, and the improved 
condition of the patient was noticeable. 

troubled with dyspepsia. 

On Sunday, August 14, the case took a new and unfavorable 
turn. The President's old enemy, dyspepsia, returned, and he 
was not able to retain his food as well as for a few days pre- 
vious. His pulse in the evening was 108. The following day 
was an anxious one. The patient's stomach rebelled, and caused 
him to vomit several times. In his weakened condition this was 
recognized as a serious trouble. He had lost more than fifty 
pounds during his illness, and it was admitted that if his stom- 
ach should refuse to assimilate food the situation would be 
critical. Secretary Blaine and Secretary Lincoln, who had left 
Washington, were telegraphed for. The bulletins stated that 
the patient had not slept well and that his stomach was badly 
out of order. 

In the afternoon the irritability of the President's stomach 
returned, and he vomited three times. At 6.30 p.m. his pulse 
was 130, having increased twelve beats since noon. For the 



248 THE A88A88INATI0N OF 

first time since he was wounded, nourisliment was administered 
by injection. The alarm that spread over the country was in- 
creased the next day by the news that the patient had vomited 
again several times during the night. His pulse ranged during 
the day from 110 to 120. His stomach continued weak, and 
nourishment was given by injection. He failed to rally from 
the prostration brought on the day before. On Wednesday, a 
more hopeful feeling prevailed at the White House. The patient 
took small quantities of food in the natural way, and his tem- 
perature was lower. His condition on the whole was rather 
more encouraging, although, as Secretary Blaine telegraphed 
United States Minister Lowell in England, it was extremely 
critical. Both Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Agnew were in attendance 
during the day. 

THE PAROTID GLAND INFLAMED. 

On Thursday, August 18, the noon bulletin said that the 
President was suffering from inflammation of the right parotid 
gland, which is affected when one has the mumps. The symp- 
tom was not regarded by the surgeons as serious, and as the 
patient retained small quantities of food, the day was regarded 
on the whole as one of progress. Some, however, took a more 
gloomy view of the case, and in regard to the sentiment outside 
the White House it was said : " Almost every one outside the 
White House believes that there is a serious vitiation of the 
patient's blood, and that this is the cause of the steady decline 
in flesh and strength. This vitiation is not thought to amount 
to pyaemia, if there is no rapid absorption of virulent matter in 
the blood; but it is argued that the blood is in a depraved 
condition, and that to this condition is owing all the unfavor- 
able symptoms and the very grave fact, which no one disputes, 
that in spite of occasional gains the steady course of the Presi- 
dent has been down hill ever since he recovered from the shock 
of the wound and made his first rally." 

On the following day, Friday, it was announced that the 
patient's stomach was resuming its functions. Yet the case 
was regarded as critical, owing to the exhausted condition 
of the sick man. The parotid gland ceased to give the Presi- 
dent pain, and it was hoped that the worst was over. Nourish- 
ment was still given by injection, as it was imperative that the 
strength of the sick man should be kept up by every possible 



PRESIDENT GABFIEW. 249 

means. The parotid swelling was reported in the noon bulletin 
to be diminishing. The patient's pulse ranged from 100 to 106. 
Secretary Blaine telegraphed Mr. Lowell that the President 
was better than he had been for four days. On Saturday, 
more food was taken by the mouth and less by injection 
than on the day before. The noon bulletin was delayed, and 
when it was issued the reason became apparent. The wound, 
it stated, had been explored to a depth of twelve and a half 
inches by means of a flexible tube. Before this time the 
surgeons had been able to examine the wound to a depth of 
only three or four inches. The deeper penetration was per- 
mitted by the separation of a small slough. The wound was 
said to be in a good condition. The pus was healthy, and Dr. 
Bliss denied that the President was suffering from pyaemia. 
His pulse and temperature were a little higher than on the pre- 
vious day. The only official reference to the parotid swelling 
was in the morning bulletin, which stated that it was unchanged 
and was free from pain. 

HOPES AGAIN DASHED. 

Sunday, August 21, was another bad day, and the hopes of 
the public were again dashed. During the preceding night the 
patient had been somewhat restless, and his pulse at 8.30 p.m. 
was at 106. His mind appeared to be affected by his excessive 
weakness. In the afternoon he vomited three times, and the 
process of feeding him by the mouth had again to be suspended 
temporarily. The vomiting, it was said, was not caused by 
nausea, but by the accumulation of saliva and phlegm in the 
patient's throat. The glandular irritation, the supposed cause 
of the bronchial obstruction, was still troublesome. Salve plas- 
ters and poultices seemed to have no effect in reducing the 
swelling. 

The reports that the President's mind was wandering caused 
the gravest feeling of alarm. This, together with the unusually 
high fever and the temperature at one time below the normal, 
made the case a critical one. His coughing deprived him of 
rest, and he could not regain strength by food administered 
through the mouth, because he could not retain it. The reports 
on Monday, the 22d, were slightly more encouraging. In the 
course of the day about twenty ounces of liquid food were 
taken naturally and retained. The efforts to scatter the inflam- 
U* 



^50 THE ASSASSINATION OP 

mation of the parotid gland were not successful, however, and 
an operation was talked of. The danger apprehended was from 
continual waste without an equivalent rebuilding. Slight de- 
lirium caused by feebleness and by the long illness was again 
noticed. Secretary Blaine telegraphed to London that the gen- 
eral condition of the President was serious if not critical. " He 
is weak, exhausted, and emaciated," said the dispatch, "not 
weighing over 125 or 130 pounds. His weight when wounded 
was from 205 to 210 pounds." His failure to gain strength was 
the cause for alarm. This dispatch caused the gravest feeling 
of uneasiness everywhere. The surgeons reported the wound 
to be doing well. 

On Tuesday, the 23d, there was a ray of hope, and for a time 
a better feeling prevailed. Thirty ounces of liquid food were 
taken naturally and retained, and at one time the patient's pulse 
was down to 96 — the lowest point reached in a fortnight. 
Fears, however, that the inflamed parotid gland would suppurate 
occasioned some uneasiness. The temperature and pulse were 
about the same as on the day before. On the whole the Presi- 
dent was thought to be about the same, and the gain, if any, 
was very slight. 

LANCING THE GLANDULAR SWELLING. 

On Wednesday, x\ugust 24, the parotid swelling became softer 
than usual, indicating that suppuration had begun. Dr. Hamil- 
ton, therefore, took a lancet, and, throwing an antiseptic spray 
over the swelling without applying anaesthetics in any form, 
made an incision upward for half an inch and then downward 
for a like distance into the cheek an inch in front of and a little 
below the ear. The pulse immediately ran up to 115, but soon 
fell to 104. Partially hardened pus, in quantity about as large 
as two peas, was taken out. The President appeared to be 
relieved by the operation, and it was thought that danger from 
this source was removed. Late in the evening the arrival of 
Dr. Agnew from Philadelphia, whence he had been hastily 
summoned, caused considerable alarm. He was driven to the 
White House, where the question of the advisability of remov- 
ing the President was under discussion. The members of the 
Cabinet were also present. It was decided not to move the 
patient. Rumors also prevailed that Vice-President Arthur had 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 251 

been summoned to Washington to assume the duties of the 
Presidency owing to the inability of General Garfield, but these 
proved to be unfounded. 

Thursday, the case assumed a more serious phase. The in- 
cision in the glandular swelling did not produce the desired 
results, and it was still filled with pus confined in cells. The 
patient's stomach seemed to be doing well, and yet it was seen 
that he was gradually losing strength, and was hourly becoming 
less able to throw off the effects of vitiated blood and in- 
sufficient nourishment. Of itself the glandular disturbance 
would not have been a cause for serious alarm, but in the en- 
feebled condition of the patient it was liable to produce the 
gravest results. Despite the operation the swelling did not di- 
minish, and the discharge of pus was very slight. This, taken 
with the fever in the afternoon, caused the deepest feeling of 
anxiety. The physicians themselves admitted the gravity of the 
President's condition, but hoped for a favorable turn. Secretary 
Blaine telegraphed to Mr. Lowell that the patient's mind, at in- 
tervals, had been clouded, and that he was losing strength. 
Friday it was thought that there was only a slight chance of the 
patient's recovery. The unfavorable symptoms continued. The 
pulse rose once to 138, and it remained at 136 for some time. 
The patient on awakening suffered from some mental confusion. 
The pus from the glandular swelling began to suppurate through 
the ear, and in the weakened condition of the patient this pro- 
cess, which ordinarily would be regarded as an encouraging sign, 
was looked upon as an additional cause for alarm. That the 
patient's blood was poisoned Dr. Bliss admitted. The wound, 
he said, looked badly. The sides were flabby, and the pus was 
thin, watery, and unhealthy. The only hope left was based upon 
the President's stomach. Should this fail him the end would 
only be a question of hours. In the noon bulletin the sur- 
geons stated frankly for the first time that his condition was 
critical. 

NEAR death's DOOR. 

Saturday, August 27, was another day of terrible suspense 
and anxiety. It was popularly supposed that the death of the 
President was only a question of a day or two, or perhaps a few 
hours. The bulletins held out little hope. In the morning and 



352 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

at noon the President's pulse was 120. His temperature was 
about a degree higlier at noon than at 8.30 a.m. He was 
feebler than on the day before. The only encouraging symptom 
was his ability to take and retain liquid food naturally. No 
change was observed in the parotid swelling or in the wound. 
In the afternoon, however, the conditions were somewhat more 
encouraging. His mind was clearer, and his pulse fell to 106. 
In the evening he asked for milk toast, which was given to him. 
A better feeling prevailed, and this was increased on Sunday, 
when the patient seemed to have emerged from the valley of the 
shadow of death. His pulse was less frequent, and no trouble 
was experienced with the stomach. His pulse fell to 100, and 
respiration and temperature were normal. Another incision was 
made in the parotid swelling to facilitate the escape of pus. 
The wound looked better than it had on the day before. 

There is not much to be said about the week that followed. 
Little change was noticed in the condition of the patient. He 
seemed to hold his own from day to day, but made little if any 
perceptible progress toward recovery. It was regarded as an en- 
couraging sign, however, that he did not grow worse, and the 
despondency of the preceding week gave way to hope for his 
ultimate recovery. The bulletins were monotonous, and the 
statement wis made day after day that the condition of the pa- 
tient did not differ materially from what it was at the same hour 
on the preceding day. Some of the symptoms were encourag- 
ing. The glandular swelling decreased in size, and the patient's 
pulse was at times as low as 90 and 95. He slept fairly well at 
night. Wednesday evening, August 31, his pulse ranged from 
108 to 116, and caused some uneasiness, but the next day the 
fever subsided somewhat, and there was thought to be a slight 
improvement in his condition. Solid food was taken in consid- 
erable quantities with relish. 

The sultriness of the weather the last of the week reopened 
the question of the President's removal from the White House. 
The air in Washington is full of malaria in September, and it was 
decided by the Cabinet and the surgeons that his removal was 
imperative. The President himself expressed a preference for 
Long Branch, inasmuch as it was inexpedient to undertake a 
journey to Mentor, and this was finally determined upon on Sat- 
urday, September 3. His condition was comfortable, and it 
was thought that there would be less risk in taking the journey 



PRESIDENT (GARFIELD. 253 

than in remaining in Washington. Late Saturday evening there 
was a slight disturbance of the patient's stomach, and he vomited 
twice in the night. The vomiting was caused by phlegm in the 
throat, it was thought, and was unaccompanied by serious re- 
sults. His pulse was somewhat higher on Sunday than on Sat- 
urday. The prospect of going to Long Branch seemed to make 
the patient slightly restless and nervous. The parotid swelling 
continued to improve, and the condition of the wound remained 
about the same. 

REMOVED TO LONG BRANCH. 

Nothing of special importance occurred until Wednesday, 
September 7, when the President was safely removed to Long 
Branch by rail. Elaborate preparations had been made for the 
journey. Shortly before 6 a.m. the patient was carried down- 
stairs and placed in an Adams Express wagon, in which he was 
driven from the White House to the special train which had been 
fitted up for his reception. His pulse before he left the White 
House was 118, temperature 99.8, respiration 18. The car in 
which he was placed had been carefully fitted up with a spring 
bed, by which the motion of the car was reduced to a minimum. 
The road to Long Branch, by way of Philadelphia, Monmouth 
Junction, and Sea Girt, was cleared of all trains, and the journey 
was made rapidly and without accident. Crowds of people were 
]XGsent at many of the stations, but they kept perfectly quiet. 
Up to Philadelphia the President seemed to enjoy the ride, but 
from Philadciphia to Sea Girt he was restless and seemed to be 
exhausted by the journey. The salt air which blew through the 
car on its journey from Sea Girt to Long Branch revived him 
somewhat. The train reached Elberon at a few minutes past 1 
o'clock, and the President was immediately removed to the room ^, 
which had been prepared for him in the cottage of Mr. C. G. / 
Francklyn. At 6.30 p.m. his pulse was found to be 124, tem- ' 
perature 101.6, respiration 18. The increased pulse was said to 
be due to the excitement and fatigue incidental to the journey. 
In the evening the fever was less marked. 

On the following day, despite the intense heat that prevailed 
at Long Branch, the President expressed himself as " feeling 
better," and the physicians were hopeful of speedy progress 
toward health. At the President's own desire, Drs. Barnes, 



254 ^SE A88ASSTNATI0N OF 

Reyburn, and Woodward withdrew from the corps of attending 
surgeons, after signing the official bulletins of that day, the 
President believing that a smaller number of attendants could 
manage the case as well as the number at first engaged upon 
it. 

Slight but positive improvement, with few fluctuations, was 
made by the President, until Sunday, the 11th, when some anx- 
iety was caused by the announcement of a rise in pulse, tempera- 
ture, and respiration, and a distressing cough revealed the pres- 
ence of some lung trouble, supposed to be the formation of a pus 
cavity in the right lobe, from which pus was discharged into his 
throat. At the same time there was a marked improvement in 
the condition of the parotid gland, some of the affected portion 
sloughing away, to the relief of the patient, and on Monday 
there was a change for the better, the lung trouble partially sub- 
siding, the gland and wound making good progress in healing, 
and the stomach continuing to perform its functions well. The 
favorable symptoms continued on the following day, when the 
President was placed for the first time in a reclining chair, and 
spent half an hour there without bad results. The lung trouble 
apparently grew less, and the patient no longer felt the continual 
sense of fatigue of which he had formerly complained; On 
Wednesday, the 15th, he was again placed in the reclining chair, 
and partook, among other things, of some fruit, with evident 
relish. Less progress was perceptible, however, than on the pre- 
vious day, and it became apparent that he was suffering from an 
abscess in the lower part of the right lung, the result of septic 
infection of the blood. Thursday there was no change in his 
condition. He took food in variety, though his appetite was not 
strong. His determination to get well wavered a little at times, 
and he once expressed fear that bringing him to the seaside would 
be of no avail after all. 

Public anxiety increased greatly on Friday, September 16th, 
as the President coughed a great deal ; the sputa was purulent ; 
I he wound was not healthy in appearance, and the discharge 
from it was thin and watery. At times his respiration was 22. 
lie was again afflicted with bed-sores, and although his stomach 
acted well, and he ate more food than usual, he was evidently 
growing weaker. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. «g55 



THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 

Half an hour before noon on Saturday, September l7th, a se- 
vere chill set in, lasting for fully half an hour. Slight evidences 
of a chill had been discovered the preceding night, but the phy- 
sicians had been able to keep it under control. The attack of 
the chills was followed later by profase perspiration and high 
fever. Toward night the patient felt slightly relieved. In the 
evening of the following day, Sunday, a chill lasting for fifteen 
minutes excited the gravest apprehensions among the President's 
attendants. The patient suffered severely from its effects. 
Though the patient felt relieved a few hours later, the physicians 
were of the opinion that the situation was very critical. 

HIS LAST DAY. 

Monday, September 19, opened ominously. A chilllasting 
about fifteen minutes occurred at 8.30 a.m. It was followed 
by a considerable febrile rise and sweating. The bulletin issued 
at 12.30 p.m. stated that the sufferer's general condition remained 
unchanged ; his temperature at that time being 98.2, pulse 104, 
respiration 20. Ever since the first chill had seized the patient 
he had been sinking slowly and gradually. Immediately after 
the issue of the second bulletin dispatches were sent by Secretary 
MacVeagh to Secretaries Blaine and Lincoln to hasten their re- 
turn to Elberon. A dispatch was also sent to Vice-President 
Arthur. Everybody seemed to be convinced that the crisis was 
at hand. The evening bulletin gave scarcely any encouragement. 
As the evening passed the patient seemed to grow weaker and 
weaker, and at 10.35 p.m., after a struggle for life lasting sev- 
enty-nine days, death relieved the sufferer. 

PULSE, TEMPERATURE, AND RESPIRATION. 

The following table shows the fluctuations in the President's 
pulse, temperature, and respiration from day to day up to the 
time of his death. The figures are taken from the morning, 
noon, and early evening bulletins : 



256 



TBS ASSASSINATION OF 





PULSE. 


TEMPERATURE. 


RESPIRATION. 




A.M. 


H. 


P.M. 

120 


A.M. 


M. 


P.M. 


A.M. 


M. 


P.M. 


July 3 










100 


20 


July 4 


108 


110 


136 


99.4 


ioo 


101.9 


19 


24 


24 


July 5 


114 


110 


106 


100.5 


101 


100.9 


34 


24 


24 


July 6 


98 


100 


104 


98.9 


99.7 


100.6 


33 


23 


23 


July 7 


94 


100 


106 


99.1 


100.8 


100.2 


23 


33 


23 


July 8 


96 


108 


108 


99.3 


101.4 


101.3 


23 


24 


24 


July 9 


100 


104 


108 


99.4 


101.3 


101.9 


34 


22 


24 


July 10 


106 


102 


108 


100 


100.5 


101.9 


33 


23 


34 


July 11 


98 


106 


108 


99.3 


99.8 


102.8 


23 


24 


24 


July 12 


96 


100 


104 


99.6 


100.8 


102.4 


33 


24 


24 


July 13 


90 


94 


100 


98.5 


100.6 


101.6 


30 


33 


24 


July 14 


90 


94 


98 


99.8 


98.5 


101 


33 


32 


23 


July 15 


90 


94 


98 


1 98.5 


98.5 


100.4 


18 


18 


30 


July 16 


90 


94 


98 


j 98.5 


98.4 


100.3 


18 


18 


19 


July 17 


90 


94 


98 


98.4 


98.5 


100.3 


18 


18 


30 


July 18 


88 


98 


103 


98.4 


98.5 


100.7 


18 


18 


31 


July 19 


90 


92 


96 


98.5 


98.5 


99.8 


18 


19 


19 


July 20 


86 


88 


98 


98.4 


98.4 


99.6 


18 


18 


19 


July 21 


88 


92 


96 


98.4 


95.4 


99.9 


18 


19 


19 


July 22 


88 


98 


98 


98.4 


98.4 


100.3 


17 


18 


19 


July 23 


93 


125 


118 


97.4 


104 


101.7 


19 


26 


35 


July 24 


98 


118 


104 


98.4 


99.8 


99.3 


18 


34 


33 


July 25 


96 


104 


110 


98.4 


98.4 


101.8 


18 


30 


24 


July 26 


102 


106 


104 


98.4 


98.4 


100.7 


18 


19 


32 


July 27 


94 


90 


95 


98.4 


98.4 


98.5 


18 


18 


30 


July 28 


92 


94 


104 


98.4 


98.5 


100.5 


18 


18 


30 


July 29 


92 


98 


98 


98.4 


98.4 


100 


18 


19 


30 


July 30 


92 


98 


104 


98.5 


98.5 


100 


18 


30 


20 


July 31 


94 


100 


104 


98.4 


98.5 


90 


18 


19 


20 


Aug. 1 


94 


100 


104 


98.4 


98.4 


99.5 


18 


19 


30 


Aug. 2 


94 


99 


104 


98.4 


88.4 


100 


18 


19 


30 


Aug. 3 


96 


100 


103 


98.4 


98.4 


99.4 


18 


19 


19 


Aug. 4. ... 


90 


96 


103 


98.4 


98.4 


100.3 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 5 


88 


98 


103 


98.4 


98.4 


100.4 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 6 


92 


100 


102 


98.4 


98.5 


101.8 


18 


19 


19 


Aug. 7 


96 


104 


104 


98.7 


100 


101.3 


18 


30 


20 


Aug. 8 


94 


104 


108 


98.4 


100.3 


101.9 


18 


30 


19 


Aug. 9 


98 


104 


106 


99.8 


99.7 


101.9 


19 


19 


19 


Aug. 10 


104 


110 


108 


98.5 


98.6 


101 


19 


19 


19 


Aug. 11 


iOO 


103 


108 


98.6 


98.6 


101.3 


19 


19 


19 


Aug. 12 


100 


100 


108 


98.6 


99.3 


101.3 


19 


19 


19 


Aug. 13 


104 


103 


104 


100.8 


99.2 


100.7 


19 


18 


19 


Aug. 14 


100 


96 


108 


99.8 


99.3 


100.8 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 15 


108 


118 


130 


100.3 


99 


99.6 


30 


19 


32 


Aug. 16 


110 


114 


120 


98.6 


98.3 


98.9 


18 


18 


19 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD 



257 





PULSE. 


1 TEMPERATURE. 1 


RESPIRATION. 




A.M. 


M. 


P.M. 


A.M. 


M. 


P.M. 


A.M. 

18 


M. 

18 


P.M. 


Aug. 17. . . . 


110 


112 


112 


, 98.3 


98,7 


98.8 


18 


Aug. 18.... 


104 


108 


108 


1 98.8 


98.4 


100 


17 


18 


18 


Aug. 19. . . . 


100 


106 


106 


, 98.4 


98.8 


100 


17 


17 


18 


Aug. 20 


98 


107 


110 


98.4 


98.4 


100.4 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 21.... 


106 


108 


108 


' 98.8 


99.4 


99.2 


18 


18 


18 


Aug. 22 


104 


104 


110 


98.4 


98.4 


100.1 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 23.... 


100 


104 


104 


98.4 


98.9 


99.2 i 


18 


18 


19 


Aug. 24. . . . 


100 


104 


108 


98.5 


99.2 


100.7 1 


17 


17 


19 


Aug. 25 


106 


112 


112 


98.5 


99.2 


99.8 


18 


19 


19 


Aug. 26.... 


108 


118 


116 


99.1 


100 


99.9 ' 


17 


18 


18 


Aug. 27. . . . 


120 


120 


114 


98.4 


99.6 


98.9 ! 


22 


22 


22 


Aug. 28 


100 


104 


110 


93.4 


99.5 


99.7 i 


17 


18 


20 


Aug. 29.... 


100 


106 


110 


98.5 


98.6 


100.5 1 


17 


18 


18 


Aug. 30. , . . 


102 


116 


109 


98.5 


98.9 


99.5 i 


18 


18 


18 


Aug. 31 . . . 


100 


95 


109 


98.4 


98.4 


98.6 i 


18 


17 


18 


Sept. 1 


100 


108 


108 


98.4 


98.6 


99.4 


17 


18 


18 


Sept. 2.... 


100 


108 


104 


98.4 


98.7 


99.2 ! 


17 


18 


18 


Sept. 3-... 


104 


104 


102 


98.6 


98.4 


99.6 i 


18 


18 


18 


Sept. 4 


108 


106 


110 


98.4 


98.4 


99 1 


18 


18 


18 


Sept. 5.... 


102 


114 


108 


99.5 


99.5 


99.8 


18 


18 


18 



On Tuesday, September 6, llie President was removed by rail 
to the Francklyn cottage, Elberon, Lonof Branch, N. J. In the 
early morning, before leaving Washino-ton, his pulse was 118; 
during the journey it fell to 110, and even lower; and at 6.30 
p.m., when the only official bulletin for the day was issued, and 
the President had been in his new quarters several hours, his 
pulse was 124, temperature 101.6, and respiration 18. The 
record of the bulletins thereafter is as follows : 



Sept. 7 


106 


114 


108 


98.4 


98.4 


101 


18 


18 


18 


Sept. 8 


104 


94 


100 


98.7 


98.4 


99.1 


18 


17 


18 


Sept. 9 


100 


100 


100 


98.5 


98.4 


98.8 


17 


17 


18 


Sept. 10. . . . 


100 


100 


100 


i 99.4 


98.5 


98.7 


18 


18 


18 


Sept. 11.... 


104 


110 


110 


1 98.8 


100 


106 


19 


20 


20 


Sept. 12 


100 


106 


100 


98.4 


99.2 


98.6 


18 


20 


18 


Sept. 13 


100 


100 


100 


99.4 


98 8 


98.4 


20 


20 


20 


Sept. 14 


100 


104 


112 


98.4 


98.8 


99.2 1 


19 


20 


21 


Sept. 15.... 


100 


102 


104 


98.4 


98.9 


99.2 


20 


21 


21 


Sept. 16 


104 


116 


104 


98.6 


99.8 


98.6 1 


21 


21 


2,<5 


Sept. 17 


108 


120 


102 


99.8 


102 


98 


21 


24 


18 


Sept. 18 


102 


116 


102 


98 


100 


98.4 


18 


20 


20 


Sept. 19. . . . 


106 


104 


102 


98.8 


98.2 


98.4 


22 


20 18 



258 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



DEATH OF THE PEESIDENT. 



HIS LAST MOMENTS. 

A iUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED END THE ANNOUNCEMENT A SUR- 
PRISE THE CABINET SUMMONED AND VICE-PRESIDENT 

ARTHUR INFORMED. 



THE END. 



A wasp flew out upon our fairest son, 

And stung him to the quick with poisoned shaft, 

The while he chatted carelessly and laughed, 

And knew not of the fateful mischief done. 

And so this life, amid our love begun. 

Envenomed by the insect's hellish craft, 

Was drunk by Death in one long feverish draught. 

And he was lost — our precious, priceless onel 

O mystery of blind, remorseless fate! 

O cruel end of a most causeless hate! 

That life so mean should murder life so great 1 

"What is there left to us who think and feel, 

Who have no remedy and no appeal, 

But damn the wasp and crush him under heel? 

J. G. Holland. 

Long Branch, Sept. 19. — The President of the United States 
died to-night unexpectedly at 10.35 o'clock. Between 9 and 
10 o'clock almost all the correspondents who had been closely 
watching the case left the Elberon and went to the West End to 
linish their dispatches and place them upon the wires there. 
The information that the President was sinking fast was sent to 
the West End Hotel at 10.45. At once the correspondents 
and others hastened to Elberon. When they reached that spot 
no particulars could be learned. At first Warren Young had 
brought the news across the lawn to the hotel. At 11.05 At- 
torney-General MacVeagh appeared in the hotel, took posses- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 259 

sion of the Western Union wire in the name of the government 
and sent to Vice-President Arthur a dispatch informing him in 
the briefest manner that the President was dead, and saying 
that he would at once consult the other members of the Cabi- 
net. The members of the Cabinet were at once summoned. 
In a few minutes, having started from the West End before the 
reception of the summons, they were at Elberon, and, arm in 
arm, they walked across the lawn in the darkness to the cottage, 
where the dead President lay. 

Judge-Advocate-General Swaim, who was with the President 
the night of his death, gives the following description of great 
interest of the President's last moments of life : " It was my 
night to watch with the President. I had been with him a good 
deal of the time from 3 o'clock in the afternoon. A few min- 
utes before 10 o'clock I left Colonel Rockwell, with whom I had 
been talking for some minutes, in the lower hall and proceeded 
upstairs to the President's room. On entering I found Mrs. 
Garfield sitting by his bedside. There were no other persons 
in the room. I said to her, ' How is everything going ? ' She 
replied, ' He is sleeping nicely.' I then said, ' I think you had 
better go to bed and rest.' I asked her what had been pre- 
scribed for him to take during the night. She replied that she 
did not know ; that she had given him milk punch at 8 o'clock. 
I then said, ' If you will wait a moment I will go into the doc- 
tor's room and see what is to be given during the night.' She 
then said, ' There is beef tea downstairs. Daniel knows where 
to get it.' I then went into the doctor's room. I found Dr. 
Bliss there, and asked him what was to be given during the 
night. He answered, ' I think I had better fix up a list, and 
will bring it in to you pretty soon.' I then went back into the 
surgeon's room, and had some little conversation with Mrs. Gar- 
field. She felt of the President's hand and laid her hand on his 
forehead, and said, ' He seems to be in a good condition,' and 
passed out of the room. I immediately felt his hands, feet, and 
knees. I thought that his knees seemed a little cool and got a 
flannel cloth, heated it at the fire, and laid it over his limbs. I 
also heated another cloth and laid it over his right hand, and 
then sat down in a chair beside his bed. I was hardly seated 
when Dr. Boynton came in and felt the President's pulse. I 
asked him how it seemed to him. He replied, 'It is not as 
strong as it was this afternoon, but very good.' I said, ' He 



$60 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

seems to be doing well.' 'Yes,' he answered and passed out. 
He was not in the room more than two minutes. 

" Shortly after this the President awoke. As he turned his 
head on awakening I arose and took hold of his hand. I was 
on the left-hand side of the bed as he lay. I remarked, ' You 
have had a nice comfortable sleep.' 

*' He then said, ' Oh, Swaim, this terrible pain ! ' placing his 
right hand on his breast, about over the region of the heart. I 
asked him if I could do anything for him. He said, ' Some water.' 
I went to the other side of the room and poured about an ounce 
and a half of Poland water into a glass and gave it to him to 
drink. He took the glass in his hand, I raising his head as 
usual, and drank the water very naturally. I then handed the 
glass to the colored man Daniel, who came in during the time I 
was getting the water. Afterward I took a napkin and wiped 
his forehead, as he usually perspired on awaking. He then 
said, ' Oh, Swaim, this terrible pain ! press your hand on it.' 
I laid my hand on his chest. He then threw both hands up to 
the side and about on a line with his head, and exclaimed, ' Oh, 
Swaim! can't you stop this?' And again, 'Oh, Swaim !' 

" I then saw him looking at me with a staring expression. I 
asked him if he was suffering much pain. Receiving no answer, 
I repeated the question, with like result. I then concluded that 
he was either dying or was having a severe spasm, and called 
to Daniel, who was at the door, to tell Dr. Bliss and Mrs. Gar- 
field to come immediately, and glanced at the small clock hang- 
ing on the chandelier nearly 6ver the foot of his bed and saw 
that it was ten minutes past 10 o'clock. Dr. Bliss came in 
within two or three minutes. I told Daniel to bring the light. 
A lighted candle habitually sat behind a screen near the door. 
When the light shone full on the President's face I saw that he 
was dying. When Dr. Bliss came in a moment after I said, 
' Doctor, have you any stimulants ? he seems to be dying.' He 
took hold of the President's wrist, as if feeling for his pulse, and 
said, 'Yes, he is dying.' I then said to Daniel, 'Run and 
arouse the house.' At that moment Colonel Rockwell came in, 
when Dr. Bliss said, ' Let us rub his limbs,' which we did. In 
a very few moments Mrs. Garfield came in and said, ' What 
does this mean?' and a moment after exclaimed, 'Oh! why am 
I made to suffer this cruel wrong ? ' At 10.30 o'clock the sacrifice 
was completed. He breathed his last calmly and peacefully. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 261 

" At the final moment the following persons were present : 
Mrs. Garfield and Miss Mollic Garfield, Drs. Bliss, Agnew, and 
Boynton, General Swaim, Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell, J. Stanley 
Brown, C. O. Rockwell, and Daniel Spriggs." 

Dr. Boynton gives the following account of the death-scene : 

Just before 10 o'clock, as the cottage was closing, he went up 
to the President's room, and upon feeling the President's pulse 
noticed it was weaker. Without awakening the President he 
called the attention of General Swaim to the fact, and then, 
thinking a change was impending, he went over to the hotel to 
send some dispatch. He was almost immediately summoned. 
Upon going over in haste and entering the room he saw clearly 
that the President was dying. Most of the family had arrived 
in the room ; all the surgeons were found in time except Dr. 
Hamilton. Scarcely a word was spoken by any one, as it was 
clear to all at a glance that the President was dying. As those 
summoned came in they silently took their places about the 
bed. Colonel Rockwell stood at the head. General Swaim first 
to the left, next Mrs. Garfield, who gently held her hand on 
the President's face and breast. Next stood Mrs. Rockwell. 
Dr. Boynton stood to the right of the President's head, next 
Dr. Agnew, and next to him Dr. Bliss. Private Secretary 
Brown stood a little in the rear and to the left of Mrs. Gar- 
field. " Dan," the colored man, was a little way from the foot 
of the bed. Miss Mollie Garfield was near the door. 

All stood silently in these positions watching the dying man. 
Once or twice there were low whispers among the surgeons. 
Dr. Agnew held the pulse, and Dr. Boynton listened for the 
heart, but could hear no sound. The only treatment attempted 
was to give a hypodermic injection to allay pain. The Presi- 
dent lay perfectly still after he first called for General Swaim 
and told him of the pain over his heart. He simply gasped 
slowly and at intervals, and thus watched he passed quietly 
away in about twenty minutes. Not a muscle moved except in 
the gasping, and there was no quiver or expression to tell of 
pain. At death, the eyes rested half closed, as if in partial 
sleep. Mrs. Garfield was strongly affected, but said nothing, 
and did not break down. After death she left the room quietly, 
but returned in about half an hour and sat by the bed, scarcely 
speaking until about 2 o'clock. At that hour Dr, goynton 
urged her to retire, which she did. 



2(52 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

One present in the room at the time of the death says Mrs. 
Garfield bore herself with surprising fortitude. Her Christian 
courage did not forsake her for a moment. She remained a 
short time after the death was apparent to all, then withdrew 
quietly to her own room. Miss Mollie Garfield was overcome 
from the moment of the sudden summons to go to her father's 
bedside, and gave full vent to her grief in spite of every effort 
at self-control. To most there, as to all outside, the sudden and 
unforeseen news came more a:^ a bewildering shock than as an 
event which could be measured or realized. Hours after men 
walked and talked of it as of a matter scarcely tangible. 

Secretary Windom, Secretary Kirkwood, and Postmaster- 
General James had just returned to their rooms and retired. 
They spent the time after their arrival at the Francklyn Cottage 
in discussing the preparations for the obsequies and kindred 
affairs, but took no formal action except in regard to telegraph- 
ing the Vice-President. Secretary Windom said that he had 
been trying to convince himself, and had almost succeeded, that 
there was still a chance for recovery, when he was suddenly re- 
quested by Mr. Jameson to open his door and the startling 
announcement was made that the President was dead. 

"I had been depressed all day," said Postmaster-General 
James, " and could not get rid of the idea that the end was near, 
yet I think it shocked us all more than it would have done had 
death resulted soon after the shooting." 

" I was in bed," said Secretary Kirkwood, " and the sum- 
mons came like a thunder-clap out of the clear sky. I have had 
little hope of his recovery for several days, but this was a sur- 
prise." 

" I believe he was ready for death," said Mr. James; " no man 
was better prepared." 

" Yes," added Secretary Windom, " he was not afraid of it. 
He has discussed the matter during the last two or three days 
with his attendants, and his words have shown that he was con- 
sidering the sad probability very calmly. Yes, he was ready 
on the very day he was shot, when he expected to die. He 
said to Mrs. Windom, ' That is all right, all right.' " 

No words can describe the grief which the tone and subdued 
manner of the speakers betrayed. Hands were clasped at part- 
ing as if in this common sorrow they fain would sustain each 
other. 



IBll^^ '"' 1 ~ ' 




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IIIIhIhBiIh ' r 11 








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il|raH||||H|^^ Ijli III 


llllll^ Jill III III III 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 263 

The suddenness with which the news of the death came can 
hardly be realized by one not at Elberon. The cottage was 
closed at 10 o'clock for the night. The two doorkeepers, 
Ricker and Atchison, had strolled down to the beach for a short 
walk before going to bed. Suddenly Ricker said to Atchison 
that the house was all lighted up. They both started up, 
and at the cottage door met Private Secretary Brown, who told 
them that the President was very low, and asked them to ^al! 
the surgeons and the Attorney-General and other members of 
the Cabinet. Dr. Boynton was talking in the hotel office at the 
time. He hastily ran toward the cottage, and in a moment or 
two returned and announced that the President was rapidly 
sinking, and again he returned to the death-chamber. At- 
torney-General MacYeagh was in bed, but he was up and dressed 
hi two or three minutes. A carriage was hastily dispatched for 
the other members of the Cabinet at the West End, but they 
did not arrive till some minutes after the sad event had occurred. 
The first news of the death of the President which reached the 
outside of the cottage was carried by Warren Young, one of the 
White House clerks. He carried in his hand some dispatches 
which had been indited to relatives of the President. He was 
asked about the condition of the President, and replied, " All 



HOW THE PRESIDENT S MOTHER BORE THE NEWS. 

At six o'clock on Tuesday morning the sad news was received 
by telegram at a place called Solon, near Mentor, where the 
President's mother was stopping with a married daughter named 
Mrs. Larabee. The dispatch was placed in the hands of the 
daughter. Her mother was sleeping calmly, and the old lady 
did not awake until 8 o'clock. At that time Mrs. Larabee 
passed her door with a heavy heart, and found her dressed and 
engaged in reading the Bible. It was thought best not to break 
the news until Mrs. Garfield had eaten breakfast. Oddly enough 
the old lady did not insist upon hearing the news until the meal 
was finished. Then, taking the fatal telegram from the shelf, 
she was about to read, but Miss Ellen took it from her trem- 
bling hands. 

" Grandma," she said, " would you be surprised to hear bad 
news this morning ?" 

" Why, I don't know," said the old lady. 



264 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

" Well, I should not," said Mrs. Larabee ; " I have been fear- 
ing and expecting all the morning." 

" Grandma," said Ellen, " there is sad news." 

" Is he dead V asked the old lady tremulously. 

"He is." 

The quick tears started in the sensitive eyes. There was a 
violent paroxysm of grief. No expression of frenzy told of the 
anguish within. 

" Is it true ?" she asked with quivering lips. " Then the Lord 
help me, for if he is dead what shall I do ?" 

She was rendered weak and a little nervous by the announce- 
ment, and was obliged once or twice to repair to her room, 
where in solitude she might begin to comprehend the awful 
truth ; but she was not content to remain there, and soon re- 
turned to the sitting-room. 

About half-past 9 o'clock Mrs. Garfield was found sitting 
in a rocking-chair waiting for news. The morning paper she 
read with eagerness. " It cannot be that James is dead," she 
muttered. " I cannot understand it. I have no further wish to 
live, and I cannot Uve if it is so." Although her general health 
is good at present, many fear that her words are prophetic, and 
Mrs. Larabee dares not hope otherwise herself. But feeling 
keenly as she does her great affliction, never once has she hinted 
at a lack of faith in the Supreme One that all is not intended 
for the best. 

" It is providential," she said. " I can firmly believe that God 
knows best, and I must not murmur." 

The writer \dsited the aged mother of the dead President at 
her humble home near Solon. It is an unpretentious little 
home, provided by the kindness of the dead President, for it is 
no sin to remind the American people, who mourn the loss of 
this great-hearted and great-brained ruler, that all his kindred 
are poor. Not one is above daily toil, and, except for the pro- 
1 notions of the past few years, it is doubtful whether even he 
would have been. It does not seem to be any part of the Gar- 
field family training or inclination to be money-getters. The 
little house is built upon the ground, being only a story and a 
half high. Two lines of great apple-trees guard the walk from 
the gate through the hedge up to the parlor door. To-day the 
little room seemed hung in mourning by the looks of all who 
were about it. A few cut flowers which grew in the garden 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 265 

near by were in a glass dish upon the table, and to the right 
upon another little table sitting against the wall large and excel- 
lent photographs of Garfield and Arthur sat side by side. On 
the opposite wall hung an engraving of Garfield as a boy, sol- 
dier, and President. In this room sat General Garfield's aged 
mother and Mrs. Larabee, her daughter, as well as Mrs. Lara- 
bee's youngest daughter. The aged mother seemed much de- 
pressed with her great sorrow, but bore up bravely. 

" I am starting upon my eighty-first year to-day," said she, 
" and it may be my last. This is a terrible sorrow, a fearful 
affliction for me to bear, but doubtless God knew best when to 
take him. He was the best son a mother «ver had — so good, 
kind, generous, and brave. If he had to die, why didn't God 
take him without all the terrible suffering he endured? I sup- 
pose I ought to think that it is for the best, and yet I cannot. 
He had, I know, fulfilled the full measure of his ambition. He 
had reached the highest place in the regard of his country- 
men." 

" Did you ever see such an uprising ?" she said eagerly. 
'' That ought to break the fall for me, but it doesn't seem to. 
I want my boy. It seems so hard, too, that we could not have 
been with him in his dying hours. There are his sisters, who 
played with him in his childhood, and who loved him as I did. 
It seems so hard that he should die away from us." 

As if gathering hope for the future, the courageous and lov- 
ing mother, long past the allotted time of man or woman in 
years, added, " I cannot last long, and the other world will be 
brighter for his presence." Referring to the place of his burial 
she said : " It is proper that he should be buried in Cleveland. 
It is the capital of the county in which he was born and of the 
section where he grew into prominence. Mentor had been his 
home but a short time, although he had intended it should be 
the balance of his life. Most of his years have been spent at 
Solon and Orange, and it seems best that his final resting-place 
should be near the places that he loved best." 

The brave old lady often trembled with emotion while talk- 
ing thus pathetically of her distinguished son. He seemed to 
fill her whole heart, and she never tired, she said, even in her 
affliction, of seeing people who knew him and would talk to her 
about him. "It is wonderful," said she, "how I live upon 
thoughts of him. I ride a little every day to get the fresh air 
13 



266 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

and look at the fields and places he loved so well. I am so 
glad you have been over to the old homestead. He loved every 
foot of it. He and his brother built the frame house for me 
near the well where the pole has been erected. It was rude 
carpentering, indeed, but they both took their first lessons in it, 
and I always loved the old home. It was burned after we left 
it. I am very glad you saw Henry Boynton. He and James 
were such ardent friends. He knows all about his early life 
and struggles. The whole people are helping me to bear this 
terrible affliction. I am getting the kindest and most affection- 
ate letters and telegrams from all sections of the country." 

It is really surprising to see how the hearts of the people, 
especially in the West, have turned from mourning over the 
dead to giving sympathy to the living. A whole bundle of let- 
ters and telegrams lay in the President's mother's lap, breathing 
in tenderest terms the most hearty sympathy for her in her be- 
reavement. From the presence of the mother to the village 
graveyard I passed, as soon as a walk of half a mile would 
bring me there, and within a few feet of the main gate for foot 
travellers I saw the grave of the President's father. He had 
his body disinterred some years since from its resting-place upon 
the farm at Orange and brought to this little village churchyard 
almost under the shadow of the Disciples' church. A plain 
marble slab marks the spot where his remains lie. It bears the 
inscription, " Abram Garfield. Died May 3, 1833, aged 33." A 
cloud of creeping myrtle covers the ground and a Norway pine 
stands guard over the grave. In the other end of the town is 
the little church of the Disciples, steepleless and decaying, where 
General Garfield used to preach. 

Elberon, Sept. 20. — The sun's face wore a deep coppery 
tint as he looked up over the waters this morning, and threw his 
earliest rays upon the closed shutters of the cottage of death. 
The wind, which for a week had been coming from seaward 
and at times blew a gale, came now from the west and was 
hushed to a gentle zephyr. The billows which for days had 
lashed the sands in anger now murmured softly of that eternity 
of which they were the fittest symbol. The sky was cloudless, 
but a mellow haze hung over the ocean, obliterating the horizon 
line and blending sea and sky in one. A single craft, miles dis- 
tant, floating as it seemed upon nothing, like a soul just parted 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 267 

from time, was making its slow way with all sails set to catch 
the breeze toward the north. 

At the cottage the quiet of death prevailed. At a little dis- 
tance, on all sides, armed sentinels with fixed bayonets paced 
their beats in silence, guardians as it seemed of that border line 
between now and hereafter, beyond which the living might never 
pass. The flag, which since the arrival of the President at El- 
beron has been floating from a pole thrust out of an upper win- 
dow of the cottage, was draped with black, but beyond this no 
outward sign of mourning was apparent. The first comers were 
the journalists, but in their demeanor the customary eagerness 
of competition was not apparent. Fifty million people would 
before night read the truths they had come to gather, but their 
subject of inquiry was death and mourning, and decorous pro- 
priety befitting the occasion was always to be respected. 

By half-past seven a dozen people had gathered in groups 
upon the porches of the hotel. Doctors Bliss, Hamilton, and 
Agnew were in consultation at that portion of the hotel nearest 
the cottage where lay the remains of the man who had been for 
eleven weeks the object of their solicitude and skill. They 
talked of the events of the night just past, and of the nights and 
days which had preceded it. They talked of the coming autop- 
sy, and agreed that it should be postponed until the arrival in 
the afternoon of their Washington associates in the medical 
councils upon the case. 

Dr. Bliss said in regard to the immediate cause of the Presi- 
dent's death that he believed it resulted from the coagulation 
of blood, which the heart in its enfeebled condition was unable 
to force off. General Swaim, he said, had evidently not at 
first fully appreciated the imminence of the crisis, but had 
called Dr. Bliss immediately. " I stepped in at once," said the 
Doctor, " and as a ray of light fell across the invalid's face I 
said, ' My God ! he is dying. Send for Mrs. Garfield.' It was 
virtually a painless death. He suffered at first, but unconscious- 
ness came, and with that his sufferings were at an end." 

At half-past ten Secretaries Windom, Kirkwood, and Hunt, 
and Postmaster-General James arrived at Elberon, and were in- 
vited at once to the Attorney-General's cottage, situated about 
as far to the northeast of the hotel as the Francklyn cottage in 
which the dead President lay is to the southeast. There they 
remained during the forenoon discussing the details of the 



268 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

events which had just transpired, in which they were all so 
deeply interested. A half-hour later General Grant, with his son 
and a friend, drove up, and the ex-President spent an hour in 
gathering information of the last hours of President Garfield. 

Meanwhile the undertaker and his assistants had arrived and 
were preparing the body of the President for embalmment and 
burial. The body showed the loss of flesh to a degree painful 
to look upon. Only the face preserved anything like the ap- 
pearance when in health. The beard in a measure contributed 
to this, serving to conceal the hoUowness of the cheeks. The 
body was laid upon rubber cloths placed upon the floor to await 
the autopsy, which lasted about three and a half hours. One of 
the gentlemen present makes the following statement in regard 
to it: 

The ball was not found until the various parts of the abdo- 
men were explored and cut asunder. The ball in its course 
broke the eleventh rib, fractured the spinal column, but did not 
touch the spinal cord. It lodged two and a half or three inches 
directly to the left of the spinal column in the mesentery. The 
channel which has hitherto been supposed to be the track of 
the ball proved to be a pus cavity formed by the burrowing of 
the pus downward. 

The catheter which was always used by the surgeons is believed 
to have bent upon itself, deceiving the surgeons in regard to 
the real depth of the wound. There was a large abscess be- 
tween the liver and the gall-duct, which according to the same 
authority was metastatic. This abscess was not connected with 
the track of the wound or the channel formed by burrowing. 
On each of the kidneys was a small abscess. The lungs, espe- 
cially the right one, were badly diseased. A large amount of 
pus flowed freely from the bronchial tubes, while by cutting into 
the tubes a considerable amount of pus was discovered in little 
metastatic abscesses; there was purulent infiltration of both 
lungs. This pus was healthy. There were no abscesses in the 
liver itself, but those in the kidneys were metastatic or pysemic. 
There were adhesions of the lungs to the chest-wall at the upper 
part of each lung, showing a previous pleurisy ; whether it ante- 
dated the shooting the examination did not show. The intes- 
tines were very adherent one to another, showing the existence 
of former peritonitis. The abscess in the right kidney was not 
opened. The rigors from which the President has been suffer- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 269 

ing for a few days were probably caused by the abscesses be- 
tween the liver and the gall-duct. 

The following official bulletin was prepared by the surgeons 
who were in attendance upon the late President: 

By previous arrangement a post-mortem examination of the 
body of President Garfield was made this afternoon in the pres- 
ence and with the assistance of Drs. Hamilton, Agnew, Bliss, 
Barnes, Woodward, Reyburn, Andrew H. Smith, of Elberon, 
and Acting Assistant-Surgeon D. S. Lamb, of the Army Medi- 
cal Museum of Washington. The operation was performed by 
Dr. Lamb. It was found that the ball, after fracturing the right 
eleventh rib, had passed through the spinal column in front of 
the spinal cord, fracturing the body of the first lumbar vertebra, 
driven a number of small fragments of bone into the adjacent 
soft parts, and lodging below the pancreas, about two inches and 
a half to the left of the spine, and behind the peritoneum, where 
it had become completely encysted. . 

The immediate cause of death was secondary hemorrhage | j 
from one of the mesenteric arteries adjoining the track of the 
ball, the blood rupturing the peritoneum, and nearly a pint es- 
caping into the abdominal cavity. This hemorrhage is believed 
to have been the cause of the severe pain in the lower part of 
the chest complained of just before death. An abscess cavity, 
six inches by four in dimensions, was found in the vicinity of 
the gall bladder, between the liver and the transverse colon, 
which were strongly adherent. It did not involve the substance 
of the liver, and no communication was found between it and 
the wound. 

A long suppurating channel extended from the external 
wound, between the loin muscles and the right kidney, almost 
to the right groin. This channel, now known to be due to the 
burrowing of pus from the wound, was supposed during life to 
have been the track of the ball. 

On an examination of the organs of the chest evidences of 
severe bronchitis were found on both sides, with broncho- 
pneumonia of the lower portions of the right lung, and, though 
to a much less extent, of the left. The lungs contained no 
abscesses, and the heart no clots. The liver was enlarged and 
fatty, but not from abscesses. Nor were any found in any 
other organ except the left kidney, which contained near its 
surface a small abscess about one third of an inch in diameter. 



270 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

In reviewing the history of the case in connection with the 
autopsy, it is quite evident that the different suppurating sur- 
faces, and especially the fractured, spongy tissue of the ver- 
tebrae, furnish a sufficient explanation of the septic condition 
which existed. 

D. W. Bliss, Frank H. Hamilton, 

J. K. Barnes, D. Hayes Agnew, 

J. J. Woodward, Andrew H. Smith, 

Robert Reyburn, D. S. Lamb. 

the final scene at ELBERON RELIGIOUS SERVICES IN THE 

COTTAGE DEPARTURE OF THE CORTEGE FOR 

WASHINGTON, 

The slow, solemn tolling of a church bell the next morning 
was the only sound that broke the hush that had fallen upon 
Elberon when the heart of tne chief stopped beating. There 
was no military ceremony,' no dirge save that of the breakers 
hard by, no pomp, no display of any kind, and the mono- 
syllabic clanging of the bell seemed like a mournful repetition 
of the one word, " Dead." All was as plain as befitted the 
character of the man and the office he had held. 

Early in the twilight the military guard was doubled around 
the cottage where lay all that was mortal of the late President. 
A notice had been issued the night before that the people 
would be admitted to see the body at an early hour, and the 
notice not only brought hundreds from the immediate vicinity, 
but many from considerable distances. The lawn around the 
cottage was thronged as early as 7 o'clock, and by half-past 
8 there were probably three thousand persons standing look- 
ing at the cottage door and waiting for the moment when they 
could enter. At half-past 8 the word was given, and from 
tlie crowd which had been kept at a distance to the steps of the 
house a line was formed between sentries. 

VIEWING THE PRESIDENT'S REMAINS. 

One by one the people entered and passed into the room on 
the southwest corner on the ground floor. In the centre of the 
room stood the coffin in which the body had been placed. 
The casket was a perfectly plain one, covered with black cloth, 
the only ornaments being the heavy silver bars that run along 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 271 

the sides and the silver plate having the following inscrip- 
tion: 



JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD; 




Born November 19, 


1831. 




Died President of the United States 


September 19, 


1881. 





The face of the President was exposed by the turning down 
of the upper part of the coffin-lid. It was terribly changed 
from its appearance before his illness, so much so that very 
many who had known him in life said in hushed tones, " I 
would not recognize him." Not only was the emaciation 
appalling, but the lines drawn by suffering were graven in his 
face until it was haggard beyond description. It is said that 
he had fallen away almost two fifths of his usual weight, and it 
was easy to believe this from the appearance of the face. No 
sign was visible of the affection of the parotid gland, the beard 
being so arranged as to cover the scar. There was some dis- 
coloration noticeable on the face, but this was not altogether 
the mark of death. A plaster cast of his face had been taken, 
and the oil applied to the skin had slightly stained it. His left 
hand lay across his breast in a position that was said to be 
habitual with him in life. His right hand lay down at his side. 
He was dressed in the suit of clothes which he wore when he 
was inaugurated as President last March. The clothes had 
'fitted hira then, and not all the art of the undertaker could 
make them look to-day as if they had been made for him. 



RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 



There was a conspicuous absence of floral adorning. A 
" V " was formed of two palm branches placed upon the coffin. 
It was the emblem as well as the initial of the victory he had 
achieved. For only an hour were the people admitted to view 
the body. At half-past 9 o'clock Chief Justice Waite, 
Secretary and Mrs. Blaine, Secretary and Mrs. Windom, Secre- 
tary and Mrs. Hunt, Postmaster-General and Mrs. James, 
Secretaries Lincoln and Kirkwood, and Attorney-General 
MacVeagh arrived at the Francklyn cottage, and the doors 
were closed. In addition to the Cabinet officers and their 
wives there were present only the members of the family and 



272 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

attendants and a few personal friends, numbering in all not 
more than fifty individuals when the religious services began. 
At Mrs. Garfield's request the Rev, Mr. Young, the pastor of 
the Presbyterian church of Long Branch, conducted these 
services. He had been requested by Colonel Rockwell, on 
account of the brevity of the time at command, to occupy no 
more than five minutes. He read the following passages from 
the book of Revelation and the Epistles to the Corinthians : 

" ' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Yea, saith the 
Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do 
follow them. We know that if our earthly house of this taber- 
nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Therefore we are 
always confident, knowing thr.t while we are at home in the 
body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, I say, 
and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present 
with the Lord. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. I 
am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be 
with Christ, which is far better ; there the wicked cease from 
troubling, and the weary are at rest. And there shall be no 
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be 
any more pain. And there shall be no night there ; and they 
need no candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth 
them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. Behold, I 
show you a mystery ; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
trump. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall 
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is 
written. Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is 
thy sting ? grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death 
is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to 
God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
Let us pray." 

After reading these passages he offered the following 
prayer : 

" O Thou who walked through the grave of Bethany, that open 
grave of the brother in Bethany ! O Thou who hadst compas- 
sion on the widow of Nain as she bore her beloved dead ! O 
Thou who art the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, in whom 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 273 

is no variableness nor shadow of turning, have mercy upon us 
at this hour, when our souls have nowhere else to fly ! But we 
fly to Thee. Thou knowest these sorrows that we bow under. 
thou God of the widow, help this stricken heart before Thee. 
Help these children and those that are not here. Be their 
father. Help her in the distant State who watched over him 
in childhood. Help this nation that is to-day bleeding and 
bowed before Thee. Oh ! sanctif}^ this heavy chastisement to 
its good. Help those associated with him in the government. 
O Lord, grant from the darkness of this night of sorrow there 
may arise a better day for the glory of God and the good of 
man. We thank Thee for the record of the life that is closed 
for its heroic devotion to principle. We thank Thee, O Thou 
Lord, that he was Thy servant, that he preached Thee, Thy 
noble life and example, and that we can say of him now, 
" Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, their works do 
follow them." Now, Lord, go with this sorrowing company in 
this last sad journey. Go, bear them up and strengthen them. 
O God, bring us all at last to the morning that has no shadow, 
the home that has no tears, the land that has no death, for 
Christ's sake. Amen." 

All had been made ready for the departure, which occurred 
immediately after the religious services. The special train 
which was to convey the remains with their escort to Washing- 
ton had been backed up on the track that was laid so short a 
time ago to bring the President to the seashore. It was com- 
posed of an engine, a baggage car, the funeral car, the private 
car of President Roberts, of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and a 
car for the attendants. After all the luggage had been put 
on board, the coffin was carried by the undertaker's assistants 
into the funeral car. This had been draped in mourning and 
lined on the side and on the ceiling with black cloth. Near the 
ceiling a line of festooned flags had been made and the chande- 
liers were draped with serge. The coffin was placed in the cen- 
tre of the car on a low platform that had been prepared, and the 
twelve soldiers who composed the guard of honor took their 
places around it. Mrs. Garfield, heavily veiled, was escorted to 
her car, into which went also Harry Garfield, Miss Mollie Gar- 
field, Colonel Swaim, Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell, Miss Lulu 
Rockwell, Dr. Boynton, and Mr. C. O. Rockwell. In the next 
coach were the members of the Cabinet and their wives, and in 
13* 



274 THB ASSASSINATION OF 

the next were Private Secretary J. Stanley Brown, Colonel 
H. C. Corbin, Executive Clerk Warren S. Young, Mr. John 
Jameson, Mr. J. R. Van Wormer, Mr. Ridgely Hunt, the son of 
Secretary Hunt; Mr. C. F. James, the son of the Postmaster- 
General; Secretary Lincoln's private secretary, Mr. Jay Stone, 
and the personal attendants upon the President and Mrs. Garfield. 

PRESIDENT ARTHUR AND GENERAL GRANT. 

The crowd of people on the lawn had been gently pushed 
back by the soldiers after the house was closed, but all stood 
waiting to see the train start. The tolling of the church bell 
was still the only sound, but at exactly 10 o'clock the engineer 
rang his bell once and the train started very slowly. In a little 
less than ten minutes it stopped within a quarter of a mile of 
the Elberon station, where it met the special train that had 
brought President Arthur and ex-President Grant from New 
York. Here another guard of soldiers had been stationed to 
keep back the crowd that had gathered there, and General 
Arthur and General Grant stepped across from one train to 
the other and entered the car where the members of the Cabi- 
net sat. As the funeral train started again it was noticed that 
the new President was talking earnestly with Mr. Blaine. 

In less than one hour it could hardly have been told that such 
scenes had been around the cottage. The great crowd melted 
away in silence. No one at all remained excepting the perma- 
nent residents, the hotel people, and the servants. The cottage 
had been locked at once upon the exit of the funeral party. The 
keys were given to Mr. Jones, at the hotel, with Mr. Francklyn's 
peremptory order that no one should be admitted excepting his 
own servants. The smooth l^n that is the pride of the place 
has been trampled and disfigured in the last two weeks, and little 
paths are worn here and there by the footprints of the sentries 
and messengers. The excitement and the crowds have robbed 
the place of the elegant neatness which was its characteristic, 
and which it will take time and great pains to restore. 

THE JOURNEY TO WASHINGTON RECEPTION OF THE REMAINS 

AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 

It was precisely five minutes to 10 o'clock when the funeral 
train started from in front of the Francklyn cottage at Elberon. 
Five minutes later it had traversed the line of track which two 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 275 

weeks ago had been laid down by the Jersey Central Railroad 
to convey the President to the cottage door. Thence, when 
General Arthur had come aboard from his own special train, 
accompanied by General Grant, it moved slowly to the south. 
It passed Elberon station proper at 10.12, and at 10.16 passed 
through Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. There were gathered 
at this place eight or ten thousand people. The men stood with 
uncovered heads, and there was no demonstration. The bells 
tolled as the train went by. 

PROGRESS OF THE TRAIN. 

No stop was made until the train reached Sea Girt, at 10.30. 
There it only drew up to leave the tracks of the New Jersey 
Central road and turn to the westward over the line of the 
Pennsylvania Company. Sea Girt was passed at 10.30, Farming- 
dale at 10.37, Freehold at 10.56. Monmouth Junction, forty-six 
miles from Elberon, was passed at 11.26. There the train 
entered upon the tracks of the direct line of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad between New York and Philadelphia. At all the 
places mentioned great crowds had gathered, and the same 
observance of the requests sent out to the people was noted. 
The only demonstration of any kind was the ringing of bells 
and the presence in silence of the people. 

STREWING THE TRACK WITH FLOWERS. 

At Princeton, the students of the college, two miles back 
over the bluff, had come down to see the train pass by. They 
brought with them great baskets of cut roses and flowers, and 
these they spread over the tracks of the railroad. It was 
strewn for several hundred yards with blossoms, and they were 
able to pass some flowers into the train as it slacked up to 
receive them. Between Princeton and Monmouth Junction the 
train took water from the trough between the tracks without 
stopping. The run from there to Lamokin, fourteen miles to 
the northward, was made without incident. 

Trenton, sixty-one miles from Elberon, was passed at 11.49, 
Norrisville at 11.52, Tullytown at midday, and Bristol at 12.05. 
About a thousand people gathered at Bristol. As the train 
passed there was good order, and the crowd was very quiet. 
Cornwall was passed at sixteen minutes after 12 ; Holmes- 
burg Junction at twenty-two minutes after 12 ; Frankford, 



276 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

twenty-nine minutes after 12 ; and the train slowly drew 
into Philadelphia at forty-four minutes after 12. Instead of 
going to the depot it was switched to the left just at the Callow- 
hill Street bridge, and pursued its course rapidly along the 
Union Railroad that leads to Gray's Ferry, which is the junction 
of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore line. 



AT PHILADELPHIA. 

Great crowds gathered all along the four or five miles of the 
Pennsylvania Railway running through Philadelphia, and stood 
in solemn silence awaiting the passage of the train. The crowd 
was not made up of ordinary idle spectators. It was composed 
of people all bearing the signs of sympathetic grief in their 
countenances, who in their subdued manner and ready compli- 
ance with police orders gave some token of the deep feeling that 
existed. At sixteen minutes to 1 o'clock the funeral train 
appeared in sight of the West Philadelphia station at the upper 
end of the depot, and as it rapidly approached the tunnel the 
faint tolling of the State House bell was borne on the air. As 
the solemn tones were heard and the train came nearer the offi- 
cers reverently raised their hats, an example which was followed 
by the male spectators. The usually noisy street became quiet, 
not a train was in motion in the railroad yard, and the street 
cars halted while the sorrowful cortege passed through the tun- 
nel. The only sound to be heard was the muffled tolling of 
many bells. 

AT gray's ferry. 

A crowd not quite so large as that in the neighborhood of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad depot was assembled about the Gray's 
Ferry station, where the train was to stop. Some three hundred 
people were stationed on the wagon bridge over the railroad and 
scattered for a hundred yards along the track. Sixty police of- 
ficers were placed along the platform to keep the crowd from 
pressing forward. The heavily draped funeral train drew slowly 
up and stopped at the station. The officers raised their hats and 
the crowd became stilled. Senator Jones, of Nevada, who had 
arrived at this point on the limited express a few moments be- 
fore, took his place in the car containing the Cabinet and the 
train moved on. 



PRESIDENT GABFIELD. 277 



TIME FROM ELBERON. 



In stopping at Philadelphia the train had been one hour and 
fifty-two minutes from Elberon. When, two weeks ago, the Presi- 
dent had journeyed to Long Branch the same distance was cov- 
ered in one hour and thirty-seven minutes. The train left Gray's 
Ferry at seven minutes to 1, passed Paschall four minutes 
later, and was at Chester at eight minutes after 1. At Lamo- 
kin the train was stopped for water and coal, and once more 
was on its way. 

AT WILMINGTON. 

At Wilmington many thousands of people had gathered, 
blocking the depot. The train moved slowly through, the en- 
gine bell being rung as it went, as if in unison with the tone of 
the bells of the church spires of the city. Elkton was passed at 
three minutes after 2 o'clock. At fifteen minutes past 3 
the train pulled into the Charles Street station at Baltimore. 
The usual crowd was there in respectful and sad silence. Only 
a brief stop was made here, the engineer was changed, and the 
train was once more on its way. 

The run — forty miles — was made in an hour and six minutes 
to Washington. There was no incident of any sort. The peo- 
ple stood at the depots, the church bells tolled, and the flags at 
half-mast waved their mammoth folds. In Baltimore the crowd 
was perhaps greater than at any other point along the line. 

ON THE ADVANCE TRAIN. 

On the train that came in advance of the funeral train was the 
car of the general manager of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Frank 
Thompson. There rode with him to Philadelphia Drs. Barnes, 
Woodward, and Lamb, Mr. George W. Childs and Mrs. Childs. 
After that the gentlemen went upon the limited train, and the 
car itself was detached at the West Philadelphia station. Among 
the passengers on the limited train were George Bliss, District- 
Attorney Rollins, and Senators Kellogg and Jones. The latter, 
however, as stated, dropped off the limited express at Gray's 
Ferry and continued his journey by boarding the funeral train 
when it drew up at that station. 



278 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



RECEPTION OF THE REMAINS. 

About noon the crowd began to assemble in the vicinity of 
the Baltimore and Potomac depot, and by 4 o'clock there 
were at least twenty-five thousand people, including the military 
and court officials, surrounding the depot. The military, which 
began to arrive at 3 o'clock, formed on Sixth Street, fronting 
the depot, the right resting at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue. 
A few minutes before 4 o'clock the officers of the army and 
navy, in full-dress uniform, headed by General Sherman and 
staff, proceeded to the platform of the car-shed, di-ew up in line, 
and stood ready to receive the train when it arrived. There 
were present General W. T. Sherman, Adjutant-General Drum, 
who superintended the forming of the military ; Generals Mc- 
Keever, Ruggles, Sacket, Baird, Meigs, Holabird, Sawtell, Card, 
and Hazen ; Paymaster-General Brown, Colonels Curtis, Nick- 
erson, Goodf ellow, Barr, Chandler, Moore, McClure, and Febiger ; 
Surgeons Crane, Swart, and Shufelt ; General MacFeely,Commis- 
sary-General of Subsistence ; Colonel Gilman, General Parke, 
Colonels Elliott, Farquhar, and Adams, and a number of captains 
and first and second lieutenants. 

The navy was represented by Rear-Admiral Nichols, Commo- 
dores Earl, English, and Wells ; Commander Picard, Surgeon- 
General Wales, Paymaster-General Cutter, Chief Engineer 
Shock, Naval Constructor Easby, Judge- Advocate Remey, Colo- 
nel McCawley, commandant of marines ; Captains De Kraft, Fil- 
lebrown, Howison, and all the naval officers in the city. Besides 
these there were on the platform Commissioners Dent, Morgan, 
and Twining ; District-Attorney Corkhill, Assistant Secretary of 
State Hitt, Marshal Henry, Second Assistant Postmaster-Gen- 
eral Elmer, a number of other prominent officials, and a few news- 
paper correspondents. 

WAITING THE ARRIVAL. 

The depot, both inside and out, was heavily draped with black 
muslin, and the hundreds that assembled within its walls spoke 
in whispers and seemed to realize the sad situation. Outside 
the crowd was as orderly and quiet as could be, and they stood 
for several hours without causing the police on duty any annoy- 
ance. Ropes were stretched along the curbing to prevent the 
vast multitudes from crowding into the streets. At 4 p.m. 



PnESIDENT GARFIELD. ^79 

tlie limited express train from New York came puffing into the 
depot, and many mistook it for the Presidential train. This 
train was shortly afterward backed out, and everything was put 
in readiness for the arrival of the remains of President Garfield 
and his grief -stricken family. 

THE ARRIVAL. 

At exactly twenty-eight minutes to 5 o'clock the train bear- 
ing the lifeless body of the late President glided slowly and 
solemnly into the depot. As Mrs. Garfield, dressed in deep 
mourning, appeared at the door every head inside the depot w^as 
uncovered. She leaned upon the arm of Secretary Blaine and 
her elder son, Harry. Behind her came Miss Mollie Garfield, ac- 
companied by General Swaim and Miss Rockwell. Mrs. Garfield 
and her daughter, accompanied by Mrs. James and Mrs. Mac- 
Veagh, were driven immediately to the residence of the Attor- 
ney-General. After they had departed the rest of the mourners 
left the car and proceeded to the pavement, when Undertaker 
William Spear provided them with carriages. The first carriage 
contained ex-President Grant, Senator Jones, and General Beale. 
Following the ex-President's carriage came President Arthur, 
accompanied by Secretaries Blaine and Windom and Chief Justice 
Waite. Next came Secretaries Lincoln, Hunt, and Kirkwood, 
and Postmaster-General James, followed by Attorney-General 
MacVeagh, Dr. Boynton, General Swaim, and Colonel Rockwell. 
The last carriage contained Private Secretary Brown, Colonel 
Corbin, C. 0. Rockwell, and Warren Young. 

THE CASKET. 

After they had been placed in carriages and assigned a posi- 
tion in the line of procession the coffin was brought out, borne 
upon the shoulders of ten sturdy soldiers of Company D, First 
United States Artillery, commanded by Second Lieutenant 
Thomas C. Patterson, and was placed in the hearse, which was 
drawn by six gray horses, their harness being draped with crape. 
As the body-bearers emerged from the depot every head in the 
vicinity was again uncovered and remained so until the remains 
were placed in the hearse and the procession moved away from 
the depot. The United States Marine Band, stationed opposite 
the entrance, meanwhile played the beautiful ^ir known as 
" Nearer, my God, to Thee," in such an impressive and solemn 



280 ^3E ASSASSINATION OF 

strain as to cause tears to flow from the eyes of the thousand of 
witnesses to this touching spectacle. 

PROCESSION TO THE CAPITOL. 

Everything being in readiness, General Ayers in command, 
the solemn procession proceeded to the Capitol in the following 
order : 

Donch's Band, 

Company A, Washington Light Infantry, Colonel W. G. Moore. 

Union Veteran Corps, Captain S. E, Thomason. 

Pistorio's Band. 

National Rifles, Colonel J. O. P. Burnside. 

Washington Light Guard, Lieutenant F. S. Hodson. 

Capitol City Guards (colored), Captain T. S. Kelley. 

Full Marine Band and Drum Corps. 

Four companies United States Marines, Colonel 0. G. 

McCawley. 

Second Artillery Band. 

Five companies of Second Artillery, four foot and one light 

battery. 

General Ayres. 

Washington and Columbia Commanderies Knights Templar. 

The first carriage contained W. S. Spear, the undertaker; then 
came the hearse, with the body bearers walking close alongside. 
The officers of the army on the right and the navy on the left 
formed a guard of honor, after which came the President, 
Cabinet, and distinguished mourners. 

ALONG THE ROUTE. 

The sidewalks, windows and housetops along the entire route 
of the funeral procession were crowded with spectators, who re- 
mained with uncovered heads until the entire cortege had passed. 
A more solemn sight was never witnessed in Washington. There 
was not the slightest indication of confusion or demonstration, 
and not a sound broke the stillness which prevailed, except oc- 
casionally a smothered sob inspired by the mournful dirges of 
the bands and the sad, sorrowful surroundings. The route of 
the funeral procession was up Sixth Street to Pennsylvania Ave- 
nue, thence to the Capitol by way of the south w.ing, thence to 
the east front, where the military were drawn up in line, the right 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. $81 

resting on the Senate side and the left resting upon llie House 
side. As the funeral cortege approached the steps leading to 
the rotunda, directly opposite Greenough's statue of Washing- 
ton, the order was given to present arms, and the Marine Band 
at the same time again played " Nearer, my God, to Thee." 
Almost the entire assemblage, which at this time was estimated 
at over thirty thousand, was moved to tears. 

LINES FORMED. 

Just before the cortege approached the following distinguished 
gentlemen formed themselves into two lines at the foot of the 
east staircase, that the sad procession might pass into the build- 
ing between the lines. They were : Associate Justices Matthews 
and Harlan, ex-Justice Strong, Senators Davis of West Virginia, 
Ingalls of Kansas, Garland of Arkansas, Kellogg of Louisiana, 
Representatives Townsend of Ohio, Wilson of West Virginia, 
Shelley of Alabama, Thomas of Illinois, J. Randolph Tucker 
of Virginia, Urner of Maryland, Phillips of Kansas, and also Ser- 
geant-at-Arms R. J. Bright of the Senate, Sergeant-at-Arms of 
the House J. G. Thompson, Clerk of the House George M. 
Adams, Doorkeeper of the House C. W. Fields, Architect 
of the Capitol Edward Clark, Official Reporter of the Senate 
Dennis Murphy, W. S. Roose and others. 

ENTERING THE CAPITOL. 

As the cortege slowly moved up the grand marble stairway 
leading to tlie bronzed door entrance of the rotunda, it was the 
most pathetic and saddening scene that those present had ever 
looked upon. Very few dry eyes were in the multitude, and a 
sea of sorrowing faces looked upon_ the sight with suppressed 
emotion. 

Immediately following the coffin was President Arthur and 
Secretary Blaine, arm in arm, and then the following in the 
order named, two abreast : Secretary Windom and Chief-Jus- 
tice Waite, Generals Grant and. Beale, Secretaries Lincoln and 
Hunt, Secretary Kirk wood and Postmaster-General James, At- 
torney-General MacVeagh, Colonel Rockwell and General Swaim, 
Colonel Corbin and Private Secretary Brown, Dr. Boynton and 
William S. Roose, Warren S. Young and Marshal Henry, Dis- 
trict-Attorney Corkhill and A. A. Adee, Charles A. Benedict 
and S. W. Rogers, George W. Tinsdale and Major Twining. 



282 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

Then came the District of Columbia Commissioners. Bringing 
up the rear were the army and naval officers, who had previously 
formed lines up the steps, the army officers on the right and 
naval officers on the left. The coffin was slowly placed upon the 
catafalque, with the feet of the corpse pointing to the east. 

LOOKING AT THE DEAD. 

All those present then passed in single file upon the left side 
of the catafalque, stopping a moment to take a final view of the 
features of the dead President. The lid of the casket when 
lifted exposed to view the face and nearly all the upper portion 
of the body. 

CLOSE OF THE CEREMONIES. 

As the funeral attendants and others viewed the remains they 
passed out of the rotunda through the door by which they en- 
tered. None lingered beyond a few moments by the coffin. A 
few minutes after the dignitaries passed out the military moved 
off by way of the north carriage-ways of the Capitol grounds, 
and when a few squares had been traversed up Pennsylvania 
Avenue the procession dispersed. The carriage visitors drove to 
their respective domiciles with no ceremony or regularity. The 
crowd was not long in departing, and the first ceremonies at- 
tending the lying in state of the corpse were readily performed. 

GUARD OF HONOR. 

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the surviving comrades of 
the Army of the Cumberland, all of whom were personal friends 
of the late President, marched into the rotunda, headed by 
General T. T. Crittenden. 

WASHINGTON IN MOURNING HABILIMENTS. 

The city looked sad in its black decorations and the whole 
community seems drowned in sorrow. Pennsylvania Avenue, 
from the eastern branch to Georgetown Heights, a distance of 
five miles, presented an unbroken line of mourning. A note- 
worthy feature was that no one house on either side of this great 
distance was without its display of black cloth. Pictures of Gen- 
eral Garfield bordered in mourning were hung out at many places. 
In fact the entire District of Columbia was draped in mourning. 
Thousands and thousands of yards of the sombre material were 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 283 

visible at every turn, and banners, flags, street cars, vehicles, 
awnings, and signs were trimmed with black cambric. A more 
universal display of grief has not perhaps been seen in the his- 
tory of any city or town of the world. Little or no business 
was transacted either of a public or local nature, and the public 
buildings were closed. 

THE CAPITOL BUILDING. 

The Capitol building was plainly and unostentatiously deco- 
rated in black. Large streamers were flowing from its massive 
proportions on the east and west fronts, and at the north and 
south wings the pillars were wrapped and festooned, and the 
exterior of the dome was encircled at proper altitudes with the 
material of the day. The grand circular colonnade surrounding 
the first circuit of the dome was heavily draped, although it 
appeared insignificant when viewed from the plateau so far 
beneath it. Upon the interior the decorations were of a more 
extensive character, although, of course, nothing but black 
figured in the display. The Senate Chamber was closed, and 
no attempt made to decorate it. The House of Representatives 
was elaborately draped. The desks and chairs had been piled 
upon either, side the aisle leading from the corridor to the 
Speaker's desk. The paintings on the walls were hung in 
drapery, and large black streamers reached from the seats in 
the gallery, falling in arches over the doors leading from the 
lobby and hat rooms into the floor of the House. Officials of 
the House had this done upon their own responsibility. However, 
the House and Senate wings were practically shut off from the 
rotunda by temporary partitions, covered with black cloth, 
placed across the north and south doors of the rotunda. 



The great point of interest was the rotunda, where the body of 
the late President was lying in state. It is circular in shape, is 
100 feet in diameter, and has a stone flagging pavement. There 
are four Revolutionary and four historical oil paintings, cover- 
ing the wall a few feet above the floor. Thej'^ are about twelve 
by twenty-eight feet in size, and were covered at the top with 
black cloth, the ends hanging down about five feet below the 
frames. At all the lower corners rosettes were attached with 
graceful streamers floating from them. Black bands and fes- 



584 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

toons covered the inside of the dome at eacli of the projecting 
circuits. The four doors were capped and girdled in folds of 
crape. The east door, through which the cortege passed, was 
more elaborately festooned than any other point. 

THE CATAFALQUE. 

In the centre of the rotunda was placed the catafalque, which 
was about three feet above the floor. It is the same one that 
held the casket incasing the remains of President Lincoln, and 
had been stowed away in the crypt of the Capitol for the past 
sixteen years. It consists of a platform about a foot high, 
twelve feet long, and six feet wide. Upon this is another plat- 
form two feet high, three feet wide, and nine feet long. The 
lower platform was covered with perfectly black Brussels carpet. 
The sides and ends of the upper platform are covered with 
heavy black corded silk. Around the upper edge is silk fringe 
and tassels three inches long. Over this and midway between 
the top of the catafalque and the bottom platform are two 
silver mouldings running around the sides and ends. The top, 
upon which rested the coffin, was covered with black cloth. In 
viewing the remains one steps upon the lower platform, which 
elevated the viewer just high enough to get a complete view of 
the face of the President. The grand allegorical fresco, by 
Brumidid, in the crest of the dome, hung over the catafalque 
200 feet above, like a picture in the clouds. 

MEETING OF CABINET MEMBERS. 

All the members of the Cabinet met at the residence of Secre- 
tary Blaine, and the conference, which was held with closed 
doors, continued fully an hour. Secretary Windom was the 
first to leave, and was followed a few minutes later by Attorney- 
General MacVeagh and Postmaster-General James. The latter 
was asked as to the nature of the meeting, but the Attorney- 
General, interrupting, said : 

" We must decline to say anything now. We have too much 
business to consider. Our meeting at Mr. Blaine's was simply 
of a sociable nature, and that is all we can tell you about the 
matter." It was said upon good authority, however, that among 
the topics discussed by the Cabinet was the wording of certain 
dispatches addressed to the Governor of Ohio and the Mayor of 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 285 

Cleveland relative to the funeral ceremoniea over the dead 
President. 



CROWDS OF PEOPLE REVERENTLY PASS GAR- 
FIELD'S BIER. 

REMARKABLE ASSEMBLAGE FILING THROUGH THE ROTUNDA OF 

THE CAPITOL RICH AND POOR PAYING A LAST TRIBUTE OF 

RESPECT THE COFFIN CLOSED AT NIGHTFALL OWING TO DE- 
COMPOSITION. 

Washington, Sept. 22. — The scene at the Capitol to-day was 
in many respects the most remarkable that has ever been wit- 
nessed in the United States. All day long the Capitol and its 
grounds were crowded with all classes of people, drawn together 
by the profound feeling prevailing in reference to the death of 
the late President. The most remarkable feature of the scene 
was the mixed character of the multitude of people that con- 
stantly poured through the vast rotunda to gaze upon the 
shrunken and emaciated features of the late Chief Magistrate, 
and the quiet and orderly manner in which this multitude con- 
ducted themselves. The East Park, beyond the line of people 
formed for admission to the Capitol, was filled with vehicles of 
every description, from the handsome barouche of the wealthy 
city denizen to the rough market cart of the poor colored 
farmers of Virginia and Maryland, who in many cases brought 
their entire families to gaze upon the face of the dead Presi- 
dent, and whose horses and mules wore harness composed for 
the most part of odd leather straps taken from sets of harness 
long ago cast aside as worthless and held together by pieces of 
rope and twine. In very many cases the harness was composed 
almost entirely of ropes. The sorry-looking vehicles of these 
people and their still more sorry-looking animals stood beside 
handsome carriages and richly caparisoned horses. For once 
there was a universal feeling prevailing in the public mind and 
the thoughts of all classes ran in the same direction. The rag- 
ged and toil-stained farm-hands from Virginia and Maryland 
and the colored laborers of Washington stood side by side with 
the representatives of wealth and fashion, patiently waiting for 
hours beneath the sultry September sun for the privilege of 
gazing for a minute on the face of the dead Presidento, 



286 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

All through Wednesday night and to-day this heterogeneoui 
mass moved slowly, but with funereal solemnity and regularity, 
through the Capitol. A double line of people extended down 
the broad stone steps leading to the east entrance of the build- 
ing, and, after winding like a huge serpent about the open space 
in front of the Capitol, stretched southward across the boundary 
of the park until its rear end was invisible from the bronze 
doors through which its advance guard was constantly disap- 
pearing without visibly reducing its dimensions. Notwithstand- 
ing the mixed character of the multitude and the numbers that 
composed it, there was no disorder or confusion. A few police- 
men were present to preserve order outside the building, but 
their services were not required, except to direct people to the 
end of the line. 

In the rotunda, where the body of President Garfield is 
lying in state, there is at present no representative of the civil 
or military power, the guard being composed exclusively of 
resident members of the old Army of the Cumberland, of 
which Gen. Garfield was a conspicuous member, and who ex- 
perienced no diflSculty whatever in controlling the obedient masses 
that constantly passed during the day. The people moved up 
to the east door and were admitted to the rotunda in ranks of 
two, and passing on either side of the casket in the same order, 
moved to the west door, through which the exit was made to 
the West Park. In this way an average of about 100 persons 
per minute have passed through the rotunda to-day, and yet 
there was not an unseemly act committed nor a loud word 
spoken. This extraordinary reverence for the dead President 
is the best possible evidence of the depth of the popular feel- 
ing, and a striking illustration of the patriotic and law-abiding 
character of the American people. 

The face of the dead President has undergone a slight 
change since it was first exposed yesterday. The work of de- 
composition is making rapid progress, and in order to hide the 
decay as much as possible the glass was removed to-day from 
the coflBn and the face carefully powdered. Nothing of interest 
beyond this occurred during the day in connection with the ly- 
ing in state, except a visit to the rotunda from ex-Presidents Grant 
and Hayes, after having witnessed the swearing in of President 
Arthur by the Chief- Justice. The two ex-Presidents moved 
quietly and sadly to the side of the coffin, and taking a place in 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 287 

the line of visitors gazed for a minute on the face of their suc- 
cessor, and then, arm in arm, silently retraced their steps to the 
Senate wing of the Capitol. Very few people recognized the 
two ex-Presidents, and their visit was so brief and unexpected 
that their presence at the side of the coffin was not noticed by 
more than five or six persons to whom they were both person- 
ally known. 

It was discovered to-night that the body of the late President 
was decomposing so rapidly that it was determined to close the 
coffin, and it is probable that it will not be again opened. The 
face, which was partially discolored when the body arrived here, 
has now become overspread with a livid hue, adding to its 
ghastliness and making the sight too horrible for public expo- 
sure. In addition to this marked and terrible change in the face 
there is emitted from the casket a perceptibly unpleasant odor, 
showing that the body is not in condition for further public in- 
spection. In view of this changed condition it is doubtful 
whether the family will consent to have the coffin again opened. 
The fact that it is closed has had no effect whatever upon those 
who desire to pass through the rotunda, and the crowd to-night 
is almost as great as at any time during the day. Mrs. Blaine 
and Mrs. Windom were the first to call attention to the condi- 
tion of the body. These two ladies visited the Capitol this 
evening, and on looking at the face of the dead President re- 
quested those in charge to close the coffin, remarking that they 
were convinced Mrs. Garfield would be shocked if she were 
made acquainted with its terrible condition. As none of those 
in charge had authority to close the coffin, the exposure contin- 
ued until the members of the Cabinet could be communicated 
with, when an order was given to cover the face against further 
exhibition. 

Several beautiful floral contributions of novel design were 
deposited, near the head of the coffin, during the day. First, 
there is a wreath of natural ivy lying flat upon the stone 
floor. Beyond this is a broken column, about three feet high, 
surmounted by a white dove. Next to this is a representation 
of " The Gates Ajar." The gates and bars are composed of 
ferns fastened on wire previously shaped to represent a double 
gate, one side of the gate being partly open. The posts from 
which the gates are swung are composed of white rosebuds, 
planted in beds of yellow and white flowers, and surmounted 



288 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

by globes of immortelles. This beautiful offering was contrib- 
uted by members of the Vermont Avenue Christian Church, 
and Avas universally admired by the passing crowd. The gates 
are large enough for a person to walk through if opened to their 
full extent. Next to this floral triumph was a crown of white 
flowers with a delicate fern entwined about the crest, and be- 
yond this stood a broken column, surmounted by a white dove 
in the attitude of alighting. Next there was a large pillow of 
white roses with the words •' Our Martyr President," worked in 
immortelles. This floral display terminates as it begins, with a 
wreath of ivy laid flat on the stone floor. The ferns, which are 
so abundant in the making of these artistic designs, are of the 
species which were used at the death of Senator Sumner. Then 
they were seen in this country for the first time. In addition 
to the floral contributions above described, there was received to- 
day from her Majesty Queen Victoria, through Mr. Victor Drum- 
mond. Charge d' Affaires of the British Legation at Washing- 
ton, a handsome wreath, which now rests upon the casket. This 
wreath was laid on the casket by Mr. Drummond at the command 
of Queen Victoria, cabled to-day. A card attached to the 
wreath reads as folloAvs : " Queen Victoria, to the memory of 
the late President Garfield. An expression of her sorrow and 
sympathy with Mrs. Garfield and the American Nation. Sept. 
22, I88I;' 

The body will lie in state until noon to-morrow, when the 
public will be excluded from the Capitol in order that the ar- 
rangements may be made for the funeral services, which are to 
be held at 3 o'clock under the direction of the Rev. F. D. 
Power, Pastor of the Christian Church in this city, of which 
President Garfield was a member. Mr. Power will conduct the 
services at the special request of Mrs. Garfield. At the conclu- 
sion of the religious services, which will occupy about one hour, 
the body will be removed to the Pennsylvania Railroad depot, 
and taken by special train direct to Cleveland. Six members of 
the Christian Church have been selected by Mrs. Garfield to carry 
the body from the rotunda to the hearse, and from the hearse to 
the funeral car at the depot. These six gentlemen are A. K. Ingle, 
William S. Roose, H. C. Stier, W. W. Dungan, Benjamin Sum- 
my, and D. F. Moore. The Philharmonic Society will render 
appropriate music during the religious services at the rotunda, 
consisting of the following selections : " To Thee, Lord, I 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 289 

jdeld my spirit," from the oratorio of "Saint Paul," and the 
familiar hymns, "Jesus, lover of my soul," and "Asleep in 
Jesus, blessed sleep." The body will be escorted to the depot 
in about the same order in which it was brought to the Capitol. 

On arriving at the depot the body will be placed in a car at- 
tached to the funeral train, which will consist of three of the 
most elegant of the Pullman Car Company's coaches and a fune- 
ral car, all elaborately decorated. The funeral car proper will 
be opened at the side, admitting a view of the cofhn as the 
train passes along. The other three cars will be occupied by Mrs. 
Garfield and members of the family and personal friends, 
together with the members of the Cabinet, the physicians who 
were in attendance upon the President, ex-Presidents Grant and 
Hayes, and the committees appointed by the Senate and House. 
Another train will immediately follow the funeral train, upon 
which will be the Senators, members of Congress, Justices of the 
Supreme Court, and other distinguished persons who have been 
invited to attend the funeral. On Saturday morning the trains 
will be met at the Ohio State line by Gov. Foster and his staff. 

A meeting of the members of the House of Representatives 
was held on Tuesday afternoon, September 20, and a commit- 
tee, consisting of Messrs. Randall, Kasson and Townsend, was 
appointed by the chair to meet a similar committee appointed 
by the Senate, to determine what action should be taken in the 
premises. On their return to the chamber the committee re- 
ported that it had been agreed that a committee of eight mem- 
bers should be appointed by each House to escort the body to 
Cleveland; that a special train should be chartered to convey 
the other senators and members to that place, and that ex- 
Presidents Grant and Hayes should be invited to accompany 
them. On motion of Mr. Randall a similar invitation was 
extended to ex-Speaker Banks, and then the report of the 
committee was agreed to. It was further determined that the 
members of the House should meet in the hall of the House to- 
morrow at 2 o'clock and attend the funeral ceremonies in a body. 
There will be a space in the rotunda set apart for their accom- 
modation, and the Sergeant-at-Arms was instructed to furnish 
each member with symbols of mourning. By the action of 
the meeting Mr. Tucker, of Virginia, was appointed Chairman 
of the Escorting Committee, the other members of which will 
be Messrs. Kasson of Iowa, Randall of Pennsylvania, Hiscock of 
13 



290 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

New York, Wilson of West Virginia, Thomas of Illinois, 
Townsend of Ohio, and Shelley of Alabama. 

A meeting of the members of the Senate was held in the 
Vice-President's room. Senator Anthony presiding. The fol- 
lowing senators were present: Messrs. Anthony, Hale, Dawes, 
Edmunds, Morrill, Saulsbury, Bayard, Kellogg, Davis, of West 
Virginia, Camden, Sherman, McMillan, Garland, Pugh, Mor- 
ajan, Jones, of Nevada, Blair, Mitchell, and also ex-Senator 
Hamlin. The Committee of Conference reported that, on con- 
ferring with the House Committee, it was deemed best to 
charter a special train for the use of the senators and mem- 
bers and such guests as they should desire to invite, which 
report was accepted, and the Sergeant-at-Arms was instructed 
to make the necessary arrangements. It was decided to post- 
pone the adoption of resolutions upon the death of President 
Garfield until the meeting of the Senate in regular session. The 
Chairman then announced the following as a committee on the 
part of the Senate to accompany the body : Senators Anthony, 
Sherman, Bayard, Ingalls, Pugh, Blair, Camden, and Morgan. 
The meeting then adjourned. 



LAST HONORS AT THE CAPITAL. 

FUNERAL SERVICES IN THE ROTUNDA OF THE CAPITOL SCRIP- 
TURAL PASSAGES AND PRAYERS VISIT OF THE STRICKEN 

WIDOW STARTING OF THE FUNERAL TRAIN. 

Washington, Sept. 2 3. — It has been a day of universal mourn- 
ing. Had the late President died as plain Congressman Garfield, 
with no tragic or pathetic concomitants to the sad event, it 
might have been said of him that no man in this community 
would have left so many personal friends to mourn his departure. 
From the highest in official and social life to the coachman who 
drove him out or the servant at his table, all who had ever come 
in contact with him formed something near akin to affection for 
him ; and he was so essentially a man of the people, always so 
approachable, that none were repelled. Hence his personal 
friends numbered thousands. Therefore to-day, when his re- 
mains were to be taken away to their distant resting-place, each 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. 291 

individual in the vast crowds which witnessed the departure 
felt that in some sense he had a right to call himself a mourner. 
Six short months ago the man made his exit through the 
east doors of the rotunda of the Capitol on the occasion of his 
inauguration as President of the United States. Then 20,000 
people greeted him with enthusiastic cheers, bands played their 
loudest, and great cannon boomed their deepest thunder. To- 
day his dust was brought through the same doors, borne by the 
loving hands of his Christian fellows in the Church, surrounded 
as then, by all that was notable and eminent in official life, and 
witnessed again by 20,000. But now there was funereal silence. 
In all the vast assemblage no voice was raised. Bared heads 
were bowed in silent grief. There was no crowding or rushing. 
Slowly the mourning cortege made its careful way down the 
granite steps. Tenderly the casket containing his mortal re- 
mains was lifted into place. The draped flags and drums, the 
measured cadences of the funeral march or the plaintive melody 
of a hymn of promise, the slow and orderly wheeling into line 
of march, made the contrast with the event to which all minds 
reverted more startling than words can find power to depict. 
The day was clear and warm. Although it had become known 
that the casket had been closed and would not again be opened 
for the public, great crowds assembled early to see the outside 
of the coffin which contained his body. For hours they filed 
slowly in and gazed upon the casket and the flowers. The 
guards of honor stood like statues in their places near the 
coffin. 

MRS. Garfield's sad visit. 

At 1 1 o'clock the doors of the rotunda, and a few moments 
later those of the other parts of the Capitol, were closed to all. 
Guards were placed at intervals in the corridors of the building, 
and while all who desired were thereafter permitted to go out, 
none were allowed to enter. There was surprise and some 
fault-finding at first; but when it was said that the occasion for 
these precautions was the last visit of the widow to her dead, 
all were content to let it be as she desired, in quiet and pri- 
vacy. 

At twenty minutes past 1 1 two closed carriages drove up to 
the east lower entrance of the Senate wing, and the occupants 
ftlighted and passed up the private stairway to the Vice-Presi- 



292 THE ASSASSmATION OF 

dent's room. All the corridors and passage-ways upon the main 
floor of the Senate wing were quickly barred to all comers, and 
instructions were given by Sergeant-at-Arms Bright, of the 
Senate, to the employees and Capitol police on duty to keep 
themselves completely hidden in the recesses of the doors and 
windows while Mrs. Garfield passed through to the rotunda. 
The rotunda itself was entirely cleared, the guard of honor re- 
tiring from view for the time being. In a few minutes the little 
procession emerged from the Vice-President's room, and passing 
around through the east corridor, proceeded in the following 
order through the silent and desolated main passage-way of the 
building: Sergeant-at- Arras Bright leading; then followed Mrs. 
Garfield, leaning upon the arm of General Swaim, Harry Garfield, 
Mollie Garfield and Miss Rockwell, Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell, 
and Attorney-General MacVeagh and Mrs. Swaim. Not a sound 
was heard save the soft pattering of feet upon the marble floor 
as the little company, robed in the sombre garments of deepest 
mourning, passed silently on. 

At the threshold her companions stopped, and when she 
entered alone the doors were closed. Beyond that threshold, 
rank nor power, curiosity, nor even imagination, might venture 
to intrude. The lid of the casket had been removed, and for 
twenty minutes the widow remained by all that was earthly of 
her honored dead. She came out closely veiled, and bearing a 
few flowers taken from the offerings of affection which had 
been placed upon the casket, and, taking the arm of General 
Swaim, departed as silently as she came. It was fitting that 
she who had given up so much that the public might have its 
own brief opportunity to pay its tribute of affection, should for 
one moment reclaim it to herself, and that no eye should dare to 
witness nor ear dare to hear, the sobbings of that widowed 
heart. 

THE RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 

At 12 o'clock the doors were reopened, but only for the 
admission of those who had tickets, or who by their official 
positions were entitled to enter for the purpose of taking part in 
the last ceremonies of respect to the dead President. Circles 
of chairs, sufficient to seat perhaps three thousand, had been 
placed in a position on all sides, leaving aisles to each of the 
four entrances to the rotunda. For an hour only the members 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD, 293 

of the Army of the Cumberland, the guards of honor and a few 
who had duties in connection with the preparations for the 
ceremonies were present. Then a few ticket-holders came in 
and took the seats reserved for them. Great crowds surrounded 
the doors, but remained for the most part in silence. Gradu- 
ally the throng increased, now a diplomat with his attendants 
in glittering court-dresses and now a society or a committee in 
regalias and plumes in sober black making their appearance, 
and in turn taking their places. Conversations were carried on 
in subdued tones or in whispers. 

A few moments before 2 o'clock the Beauseart Commandery 
of Knights Templar from Baltimore filed in and deposited a 
handsome floral tribute to the dead President. A few minutes 
later a number of the members of the Diplomatic Corps entered 
and took the seats assigned to them in the rear of the sofas 
placed for the accommodation of the Supreme Court, the mem- 
bers of which soon after entered headed by Chief -Justice Waite. 
At 2.40 Colonel Rockwell, Dr. Boynton, Private Secretary 
Brown, Messrs. Judd, Pruden, Warren Young, Hindley and 
Duke, Mr. and Mrs. Bolney, Colonel and Mrs. Corbin, Mrs. 
Pruden, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, and Mrs. Dean, representing 
the household of the late President, entered and took the seats 
reserved for them. The members of the House filed in through 
the south door, preceded by the oflBcers of that body and by ex- 
Speakers Randall and Banks. They were followed by the 
senators, Senator Anthony leading, who entered by the north 
door. At 3 o'clock the Cabinet and distinguished guests entered 
in the following order: President Arthur, and Secretary Blaine^ 
ex-Presidents Grant and Hayes, Secretary and Mrs. Windom, 
Secretary and Mrs. Lincoln, Secretary and Mrs. Hunt, Attorney- 
General and Mrs. MacVeagh, Secretary Kirkwood, and Post- 
master-General James, and Generals Drum and Beale. The 
vast assembly rose as of one accord to honor the new President, 
and when they had regained their seats the ceremonies were 
opened with the hymn, " Asleep in Jesus," beautifully rendered 
by the volunteer choir. 

PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE READ. 

The Rev. Dr. Rankin then ascended the raised platform at the 
head of the catafalque and read in a clear, distinct voice the 
following Scriptural selections : 



294 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

The Lord reignetli. The floods have lifted up their voice. 
The Lord on high is mightier than the voice of many waters. 
Clouds and darkness are round about him ; righteousness and 
judgment are the habitation of his throne. By him kings reign 
and princes decree justice. He changeth the times and the sea- 
sons. He removeth kings and setteth up kings. 

For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are 
ordained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, 
resisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall receive 
to themselves damnation. Cease ye from man whose breath is 
in his nostrils ; for wherein is he to be accounted of ? For 
behold the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jeru- 
salem and from Judah the mighty man, the man of war, the 
honorable man, and the counsellor and the eloquent orator. 

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the 
spirit ; neither hath he power in the day of death ; and there is 
no discharge in that war. There shall he be at rest with kings 
and counsellors of the earth, which built desolate places for 
themselves. The elods of the valley shall be sweet unto him ; 
and every man shall draw after him as there are innumerable 
before him. There the wicked cease from troubling, and there 
the weary be at rest. 

Then answered Jesus unto them : Verily, verily, I say unto 
you. He that heareth my Word and believeth on Him that sent 
me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation ; 
but hath passed from death unto life. To him that overcometh 
will I grant to sit with me on my throne ; even as I also over- 
came, and sit down with my Father in his throne. Blessed 
are they that do his commandments that they may have right to 
the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 
And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their fore- 
heads. 

And he went a little further, and fell on his face and prayed, 
saying : O my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me. 
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. 

It became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all 
things in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Captain of 
their Salvation perfect through suffering. The disciple is not 
above his master nor the servant above his lord. It is enough 
for the disciple that he be as his master and the servant as his 
lord. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 295 

Let not your hearts be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe 
also in me. I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to 
you. Leave the fatherless children ; I will preserve them alive. 
And let thy widow trust in me. 

And it came to pass, when they came to Bethlehem, that all 
the city was moved about them. And they said, Is this Naomi ? 
and she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara ; for 
the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and 
the Lord hath brought me home again empty. 

For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great 
mercies will I gather thee. I hid my face from thee for a mo- 
ment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, 
saith the Lord, thy Redeemer. 

And Jacob died and was gathered unto his people. And 
Joseph went up to bury his father. And there went up with 
them both chariots and horsemen ; and it was a very great com- 
pany. And when the inhabitants of the land saw the mourn- 
ing, they said. This is a grievous warning to thee. And they did 
unto him according as he had commanded them. For they 
carried him into the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave 
of the field of Machpelah which Abraham bought for a posses- 
sion of a burying-place. 

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me. Write, 
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. 
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and 
their works do follow them. 

I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which 
are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. 
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them 
also that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Wherefore, 
comfort one another with these words. Faithful is he that call- 
eth you, who also will do it. 

The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the 
name of the Lord. 

DR. ERRETt's prayer. 

The Rev. Dr. Isaac Errett then offered prayer. He spoke in 
a clear but low tone of voice, and with much evidence of deep 
feeling, but many of his utterances were lost. He said : 

Our beloved President is dead. Raised by the voice of the 
people to the Chief Magistracy of this great nation, he was 



296 TBE ASSASSINATION OF 

stricken down by a murderous hand — cut off in his glorious prom- 
ise, and all the high hopes and expectations connected with 
his administration of public affairs sunk into disappointment and 
nothingness. O Lord, as we stand in the presence of this fear- 
ful calamity, may our hearts be exceedingly humbled before 
Thee, and as we are short-sighted, we pray that Thy hand may 
be reached down, and we may be taken through this darkness 
out into the light ; and enable us to realize that even in thickest 
darkness Thou dost not forget to be merciful. And while we 
deeply feel beyond what we can say in woras, the bitterness of 
this affliction we cannot forget. 

O Lord, how much we have to be thankful for. We desire 
to praise Thee that though the President is dead the nation 
lives, that though our Chief Magistrate is thus cruelly and vio- 
lently taken away from us the Government moves on in the peace- 
ful performance of all its functions, that there is no jar in its 
machinery, and that the blessings of a good Government are 
still continued to us in all the land. For this we praise Thee, 
and we humbly pray that the President who sits near to our 
departed President may be filled with all love of righteousness 
and truth, and be prepared in everything by the blessing of God 
for the faithful performance of his responsible duties. May he 
be able to guide the affairs of this nation with discretion, may 
party animosity and strife and sectional division be overcome by 
means of this sacrifice, so that, one people in a deeper sense than 
we have ever been, there may come blessings out of this terrible 
affliction. 

The reverend gentleman then in conclusion paid an eloquent 
and touching tribute to Mrs. Garfield, referring to the noble and 
Christian spirit which she had exhibited in the hour of sorrow 
and tribulation, and exhorting her to look to God in the days of 
her affliction. He invoked the divine blessing on the fatherless 
children : that the sons should, under the benediction of God, 
f;Tow up to a noble manhood, and that the bereaved daughter 
might rise into a true, a glorious womanhood, and live to be 
the comfort of her widowed mother. He appealed to God to 
have pity on the dear old mother over the mountains waiting 
for the dead body of her darling son, now that »he was old and 
gray-haired. 



PRESrOENT GARFIELD. 297 



DR. POWERS'S EULOGY. 

As the closing words of the prayer died away, the Rev. F. 
D. Powers, of the Vermont Avenue Christian Church, of which 
President Garfield was a member, delivered a feeling address. 
He spoke in a clear voice, and was distinctly heard in every 
portion of the hall. 

The cloud so long pending over the nation has at last burst 
upon our heads. We sit half crushed amid the ruin it has 
brought. A million million prayers and hopes and tears, as far 
as human wisdom sees, were vain. Our loved one has passed 
from us. But there is relief. We look away from the body. 
We forget, for a time, the things that are seen. We remember 
with joy his faith in the Son of God, whose Gospel he some- 
times himself preached, and which he always truly loved. And 
we see light and blue sky through the cloud structure, and beauty 
instead of ruin ; glory, honor, immortality, spiritual and eternal 
life in the place of decay and death. The chief glory of this 
man, as we think of him now, was his discipleship in the school 
of Christ. His attainments as scholar and statesman will be the 
theme of our orators and historians, and they must be worthy 
men to speak his praise worthily. But it is as a Christian that 
we love to think of him now. It was this which made his life 
to man an invaluable boon, his death to us an unspeakable loss, 
his eternity to himself an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away. 

He was no sectarian. His religion was as broad as the religion 
of Christ. He was a simple Christian bound by no sectarian 
ties, and wholly in fellowship with all pure spirits. He was a 
Christologist rather than a theologist. He had great reverence 
for the family and relations. His example as son, husband, and 
father is a glory to this nation. He had a most kindly nature. 
His power over human hearts was deep and strong. He won 
men to him. He had no enemies. The hand that struck him 
was not the hand of his enemy, but the enemy of the position, 
the enemy of the country, the enemy of God. He sought to 
do right, manward and Godward. 

He was a grander man than we know. He wrought even in 

his pain a better work for the nation than we can now estimate. 

He fell at the height of his achievements not from any fault of 

his, but we may in some sense reverently apply to him the 

13^ 



298 THE ASSASSINATION OP 

words spoken of his dear Lord, " He was wounded for our trans- 
gressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of 
our peace was upon him." As the nations remember the Mace- 
donian as Alexander the Great and the Grecian as Aristides 
the Just, may not the son of America be known as Garfield the 
Good? 

Our President rests ; he had joy in the glory of work, and he 
loved to talk of the leisure that did not come to him. Now he 
lias it. This is the day, precious because of the service it ren- 
dered. He is a freed spirit ; absent from the body he is pres- 
ent with the Lord. On the heights whence came his help he 
finds repose. What rest has been his for these four days ? The 
brave spirit which cried in his body, " I am tired," is where the 
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. The 
patient soul which groaned under the burden of the suffering 
flesh " Oh, this pain," is now in a world without pain. Spring 
comes, the flowers bloom, the buds put forth, the birds sing. 
Autumn rolls round, the birds have long since hushed their 
voices, the flowers faded and fallen away; the forest foliage 
assumes a sickly, dying hue, so earthly things pass away and 
what is true remains with God. 

The pageant moves, the splendor of arms and the banners 
glitter in the sunlight, the music of instruments and of oratory 
swells upon the air. The cheers and praises of men resound. 
But the spring and summer pass by, and the autumn sees a 
nation of sad eyes and heavy hearts, and what is true remains 
of God. " The eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are 
the everlasting arms." 

THE REV. MR. BUTLEr's PRAYER. 

At the conclusion of Dr. Power's address, the Rev. J. G. 
Butler offered prayer as follows: 

Our Father, we bow before thee with bleeding hearts. Thy 
judgments are unsearchable and Thy ways past finding out. We 
rejoice in the light that comes from Thy throne in this hour of 
darkness, and adore Thee as our Covenant God, the God of our 
now sainted President, and the Sovereign among earth's rulers. 
There is forgiveness with Thee, and we come with penitent 
liearts in the name that is above every name. We thank God 
for the life of His servant around whose remains the nation's 
host gathers in sorrow, for his patriotism and purity, for bi» 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 299 

courage and patience, for his faith and piety — the faith that was 
first in his now heart-stricken mother. The Lord deal very 
tenderly with her and preserve her unto everlasting life. God 
be praised for the blending of hearts at the mercy-seat asking 
the life of our President Father, not as we will, but as Thou 
wilt. Thy wisdom and love are infinite and unerring. Sanc- 
tify this faith-trial to the nation to the glory of Thy name. Thou 
compassionate Saviour, we commend to thee very tenderly her 
whose faith and courage made Thy servant strong in his days of 
weakness. We thank Thee for the gathering of helpful sym- 
pathy around her in this her darkest hour. Thou wilt keep 
and bless her and the fatherless ones entrusted to her training. 
Oh, that they may walk in the faith of their father and of their 
mother and of their grandmother. Keep them all from acci- 
dent upon their journey, bearing this sacred dust to its last rest- 
ing-place. Help us to look beyond the home of the soul, where 
the child shall find its mother and the mother the child, and 
where they die no more. God be praised for the institutions 
of freedom and religion, the rich heritage of our fathers, which 
survive the death of rulers and of people. Make us worthy of 
Thee. Give us the wisdom and courage needed to protect and 
perpetuate, thus making us more and more a pattern among the 
nations. Endow with wisdom and grace Thy servant upon whom 
the great responsibilities of administration have so suddenly 
come. Bless his Cabinet, coming from their anxious and lov- 
ing ministries of sorrow in the chamber of suffering and death. 
Oh, that all our rulers may ever rule in Thy fear, and that our 
land may be noted for righteousness and peace — the spirit of 
justice and equity animating those who make and execute the 
law, that all the people may enjoy peace and prosperity. Make 
us worthy subjects of the coming kingdom of our Lord and 
Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom with Thee, O Father, with the 
ever-blessed Spirit be dominion and power and glory, world 
without end. Amen. 

Immediately after the close of the services the floral decora- 
tions were all removed (Mrs. Garfield having requested that they 
be sent to her home at Mentor) except the beautiful wreath, the 
gift of Queen Victoria, which had been placed upon the head 
of the coffin when the lid was closed, and which remained there 
when the coffin was borne to the hearse, and will lie upon it 
till the remains are buried ; this touching tribute of Queen Vic- 



300 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

toria greatly moved Mrs. Garfield, as only a woman can feel a 
woman's sympathy at the time of her greatest earthly sorrow. 

The street scenes were only repetitions of what was seen here 
on Wednesday, when the body was received from Elberon. 
The pavements, windows, and roofs of houses all along the 
route of the march from the Capitol to Sixth Street were 
crowded and fairly packed with people. For hours before 
the time for the arrival of the body at the depot, the streets 
for several squares were blocked so that all travel was stopped 
except the passage of the street cars. Inside the depot the 
arrangements were complete and even sumptuous. 

THE START FOR CLEVELAND. 

The funeral train was divided into two sections of some six 
or seven Pullman palace-cars each, and all the afternoon the 
gentlemen in charge of the different organizations of the cortege 
were engaged in bringing in supplies of all kinds. The large 
size of the party, consisting of the Cabinet, Army and Navy 
officers. Senators and Representatives, and the impossibility of 
securing such supplies on the road, made it necessary to have 
it done beforehand. Mr. Wormley, the famous restaurateur, 
was asked to attend to this part of the programme. The hearse 
reached the depot at 4.20, at which moment the Marine Band 
played a solemn air. The Array and Navy officers marched 
out to the gateway, and stood in two lines with heads uncov- 
ered, while the artillery sergeants bore the coffin on to the plat- 
form and thence into the car, as they had taken it out on Wed- 
nesday. The Cabinet followed slowly and at intervals, the crowds 
on the outside preventing the prompt arrival of their carriages. 
The pall-bearers were followed closely by the Army and Navy 
officers and White House employees. Then came General Grant 
and Mr, Hayes, arm in arm. Directly after came the President, 
holding to the arm of Mr. Blaine, and with Attorney-General 
MacVeagh on the other side. Then came Secretary and Mrs. 
Lincoln, Secretary and Mrs. Windom, Secretary and Mrs. 
Hunt, Secretary and Mrs. James, and the others in irregular 
order. Mr. Blaine and General Beale returned in a few moments 
escorting the President and General Grant back to their carriage. 

The remainder of the party came in promiscuously, and were 
assigned to their places in the cars as rapidly ; and a few min- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 301 

utes after 5 o'clock the funeral train passed out of the depot, 
followed at a short interval by the Congressional train. 

As the crowds turned sorrowfully homeward, there was a 
realization of the fact that Washington City, and the whole 
country as well, has taken leave forever of a great man — one 
who for twenty years has filled a large space in the national 
esteem. 



THE LAST SAD JOURNEY. 

THE RAILROAD LINED WITH PEOPLE ALL THE WAY FROM 
WASHINGTON FLOWERS STREWED ON THE TRACKS. 

Cleveland, Ohio, September 24. — The funeral train of six 
coaches bearing the body of President Garfield left the Balti- 
more and Potomac station in Washington at 5.15 o'clock yes- 
terday, passing out of the city amid the tolling of bells and in 
the presence of many thousand silent people. The first coach 
was the Pennsylvania Railroad president's private car — No. 120 
— reserved for Mrs. Garfield and her family. Miss Mollie Gar- 
field, the only daughter of the dead President, crept into her 
mother's arms as the train moved slowly away from the capital, 
and in her efforts to soothe the little one's grief the President's 
widow became brave and calm. Fresh flowers were scattered 
before the train, and there were few dry eyes in the groups 
surrounding Mrs. Garfield at this tender exhibition of the peo- 
ple's grief and sympathy. Mrs. Mason and Mrs. Reed, cousins 
of Mrs. Garfield, remained with her. The Rev. Isaac Errett, of 
Cincinnati, who will preach the funeral sermon at Cleveland ; 
the Rev. Mr. Powers, of the Christian Church at Washington ; 
General Swaira, Colonel Rockwell and wife. Marshal Henry, 
Private Secretary Brown, Dr. Hawkes, the tutor of the Garfield 
boys ; Miss Rockwell and Harry Garfield, the late President's 
eldest boy, were the occupants of the other private car. The 
members of the Cabinet, with their wives, occupied the second 
coach, the Pullman hotel car Marlborough. All looked sadly 
out at the crowd, and but few words were exchanged. The 
third car, the Lindell, bore the officers of the army and navy. 
In the fourth was the coffin of the dead President, and with it a 
guard of honor, among whom was Major Clapp, a comrade of 



305 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

General Garfield ir the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers, and one 
of the witnesses of the late President's marriage. The gaard of 
honor was composed of Lieut. E. W. Weaver, of the Second 
Artillery ; Sergeant-major Salter, and eleven non-commissioned 
officers and privates. The fifth coach contained the Congres- 
sional committee. 

Baltimore was reached in one hour and thirty minutes. A 
very large assemblage was at the Charles Street depot. Cut 
flowers were thrown into the coaches as they passed slowly 
through the outskirts of the city. The line of cars moved 
slowly through the crowd that surrounded the Charles Street 
station, and passed out on the track of the Northern Central 
Railroad. The locomotive divided the great assemblage of 
people into two compact masses on either side of the train. 
This gathering of men and women and children of every con- 
dition of life looked on in reverential silence. Col. Rockwell, 
who had been leaning his head on his hand looking out of the 
window, suddenly straightened up and said in a low tone to those 
around him : " This is a far different scene from what I wit- 
nessed here on Monday morning, the 28th day of February. We 
were going the other way then, and right about there in the 
car the man who lies dead yonder stood in the full strength of 
manly age. He had just returned from the platform, where he 
had been bowing to the crowd who came here to welcome him 
on his way to the White House. It was a cold day, and his 
face was flushed with pleasure and excitement. He made every 
one happy about him in his old-time way. His ambition was 
satisfied, his friends and his family were about him, and the 
future seemed very bright. The crowd outside was howling 
itself hoarse for him. What a splendid type of American man- 
hood he was. Look at the contrast now. In there he lies, a 
poor mass of clay, and the crowd that shouted for him six 
months ago stands there weeping for him to-day." 

The speed of the train was increased after leaving Baltimore. 
York, the largest town on the line, was reached at 8.20. Night 
fell, with lowering clouds, and the darkness was almost impene- 
trable. A large crowd of people, notwithstanding, met the 
train at this point. Rough-visaged miners lifted their little 
children up so that they might see the coffin of the dead Pres- 
ident as the body was borne slowly away to its last resting- 
place. The funeral train did not stop after leaving Baltimore 



PRESit>ENT GARFIELD. 303 

until Yorkhaven, a small coaling station, was reached, twelve 
miles below Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna. The journey of 
120 miles, from Washington to the State capital of Pennsylvania, 
was almost without incident. Wherever a village or a house 
was to be seen there were sad faces turned sorrowfully towards 
the black-clad train bearing the dead President from the capital 
of the nation to the grave. With tolling bells the train rolled 
through the larger villages, passing between lines of factories 
and dwellings hung with black. There had been from early 
morning a total suspension of business in every place along 
the line. 

At a late hour Col. Rockw^ell and Gen. Swaim, Dr. Boynton 
and the Rev. Mr. Power left Mrs. Garfield's car for the night. 
In the Army coach Generals Sherman, Sheridan, and Hancock 
were joined by several members of the Cabinet and ex-Presi- 
dent Hayes. Supper was prepared in the hotel car after leav- 
ing Bridgeport, opposite Harrisburg. Bonfires were Hghted 
in the little mountain hamlets, and the bells were tolled as the 
train passed on. The whole population of neighboring villages 
assembled along the railroad. The train did not cross the Sus- 
quehanna to Harrisburg, but continued by the Northern Central 
track up the right bank of the river, and in seven miles reached 
Marysville, in the gap of the Blue Ridge. The train was timed 
to arrive at 9.36 in the evening, and it came three minutes 
later. The church bells rang at intervals of every half-minute, 
and in the town hall of the village a meeting was being held 
at w^hich the sorrow and grief of the people at the President's 
death was expressed. Engine No. 91, belonging to the Middle 
Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was here attached to the 
train, and it was placed in charge of Superintendent H. Carter, 
T. H. Ely, superintendent of machinery ; John B. Rood, fore- 
man; Mr. Wells, the local train-master; and W. D. Cramer. 
These officers were to conduct the train over the mountains to 
Altoona. The greatest care was taken in perfecting the local 
railway arrangements, a pilot-engine proceeding fifteen miles in 
advance of the funeral train to see that the track was clear. At 
Marysville a delay of seven minutes w^as made. The Congres- 
sional train followed twenty minutes later, and was placed in 
charge of new railroad officers for the rest of the long and sad 
journey over the mouHtains to the lake. 

The Congressional train arrived at Marysville, Penn., at 10.15 



304 "THE ASSASSINATION OH* 

last night, and Don Cameron's private car was then attached 
to it. The car contained but three persons, Senators Don 
Cameron and Logan and ex-Senator Chaffee. At Marysville 
the second train was thirty minutes behind the funeral train. 
To show how well the road was guarded on the occasion of 
this lamentable journey it may be stated, on the authority of 
an official of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, that every 
switch between Baltimore and Pittsburg was manned, and men 
to watch the track were placed at every half mile on the route, 
and reported to the conductor of the train by lantern signals at 
every half-mile station designated by the officials. The train 
left Altoona on time at 1.40 this morning, and passed Johns- 
town at 3.15 a.m. About 3000 people had congregated at the 
depot, standing uncovered and silent. The bells of all the 
churches, school-houses, and engine companies were tolled. Derry 
station was reached at about 4.30 o'clock. Hundreds had gath- 
ered here, and the same scenes were enacted when the train en- 
tered the Union depot at Pittsburg at 5.40 this morning. Fully 
5000 people had assembled at the depot, and in the streets 
throuo-h which the train was to pass. No demonstration was 
made, save the tolling of all the bells throughout the city and 
the firing of minute guns by the Knapp Battery. A committee 
of fifty citizens was on hand, and, like the crowd, stood with 
their heads bowed and uncovered. The scene was very solemn 
and impressive, and will not soon be, forgotten by those who 
participated. During the fourteen minutes' stop at Pittsburg, 
while the train was been shifted to the Cleveland and Pittsburg 
Railroad tracks, no one ventured to speak a word above a whis- 
per, and the funeral party kept themselves out of sight. The 
train drew out of the depot at 5.45, and slowly crossed the 
bridge to Allegheny City, where a car containing the Cleveland 
committee was attached. More people even than in Pittsburg 
lined the tracks through Allegheny City and the parks along 
the line of the railroad. Where it passed through the West 
Park the tracks were covered with plants in full bloom and 
beautiful and expensive floral tributes. The train steamed out 
of Allegheny City at 6.20, amid the tolling of bells, but there 
were no other demonstrations. 

The second, or Congressional, train left Altoona at 2.15 a.m., 
drawn by two locomotives. There were several hundred people 
in the depot, many of whom were ladies. The train reached 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 30,5 

Derry, Penn., at 4.45 a.m., when it stopped for water. Many 
people of both sexes were in waiting along the track at that 
unusual hour to see the train pass. At Derry it was 30 minutes 
behind the first train. After daylight people could be seen in 
bunches of 10 or 15 at many different points along the line of 
the road. The nearer to Pittsburg the train approached the 
more frequent became the crowds, and all the small stations 
were filled with men, women, and children. The train arrived 
at Pittsburg at 6.17 a.m., where breakfast was taken. The 
funeral train had left Pittsburg 20 minutes earlier. It had 
stopped for about 15 minutes, but breakfast was not partaken 
of. The Congressional train left Pittsburg at 7.05. For a long 
distance out of the city people were to be seen in groups on 
either side of the track. The local committee from Cleveland 
arrived at Pittsburg last night in a special car appropriately 
draped, which was attached to the train, making ten cars in all, 
and all were draped with the exception of that occupied by Don 
Cameron and his party. 

At Sewickley a stop of five minutes was made in order that 
the funeral train might get 30 minutes in advance, it having 
been decided to keep the two trains th^t distance apart. The 
train arrived at Rochester at 7.43 o'clock. A large number of 
people were gathered at the depot, and Post No. 183 of the 
Grand Army of the Republic was drawn up in line to receive 
the train. As the Congressional train moved out of Rochester 
the members of the Grand Army were ordered by the command- 
ing officer to raise their hands in salute, in which position they 
remained until the last car had passed. As usual, in passing all 
of the towns, men, women, and children of all classes were 
gathered on either side of the track, while at the depot several 
hundred were congregated. Congressman Hanna, chairman of 
the Cleveland local committee, passed through the train with 
Sergeant-at-Arms Thompson, and was introduced by him to the 
gentlemen with whom he was not acquainted. Mr. Hanna was 
accompanied by a gentleman from Cleveland who had charge 
of the arrangements for quartering the guests in this city. 
Those who desired it have been invited to take up their abode 
at private residences, many citizens of Cleveland having ex- 
tended that courtesy. For those who prefer them hotel accom- 
modations have been provided. 

The drapery on the first car caught fire this morning while 



306 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the train was in motion, but was extinguished before much dam- 
age had been done. A post of the Grand Array of the Repub- 
Hc was drawn up in front of the depot at East Liverpool, Ohio, 
which was reached at 7.58, when the train passed in the order 
of salute. A band of music was in attendance and played a 
funeral dirge. A beautiful arch was erected over the main 
street, tastefully decorated. The fire department was also 
drawn up in line, and about 1000 people were congregated at 
the station and along the track. The Congressional train here 
caught up with the funeral train, which was delayed because of 
a request of Mrs. Garfield that the coach in which she was 
should be placed in the rear of the train. The ladies did not 
sleep well last night because of the heat and being too close to 
the engine. The funeral train made another stop at Wellesville 
Junction, about three miles from Wellesville, to take in water. 
The car shops of the company are situated here, and the em- 
ployees, with their wives and children, were assembled in a body 
to witness the passing of the train. Across the front of one of 
the largest shops was stretched a wide piece of canvas, on which 
was painted in prominent letters, " We Mourn our Dead Presi- 
dent." The people stood quietly by when the train stopped, 
scarcely any of them moving until it again started. At Welles- 
ville proper there was a large crowd, and as the funeral train 
stopped for some time, the assemblage had an opportunity to 
partially gratify their curiosity. Ex-President Hayes, Secreta- 
ries Blaine and Lincoln, and Postmaster-General James sat at 
open windows facing the people, and many men shook hands 
with the distinguished gentlemen, and as the train moved out 
of the depot followed it with their eyes as long as it was possi- 
ble to do so. Some of the women took their little children up 
to the car windows to have them shake hands with the inmates. 
In one instance Postmaster-General James took a little child up 
and kissed it. 

At one of the stations passed a large number of the male por- 
tion of the crowd were in a kneeling position as the train rolled 
by. 

One reason for Mrs. Garfield's requesting that her car be 
placed at the rear of the train was that she desired to be out of 
reach of the crowd on arriving at Cleveland. Whenever the 
train has made a stop the curtains of Mrs. Garfield's car have 
been drawn down. The manifestations of sympathy for the 



PBESIDENT QARFIELiy. 307 

dead President were most marked along the entire route. Tbe 
houses from a mansion to a log cabin were draped in mourning 
at all points. At Salineville, Ohio, there was quite a gathering 
of all classes of people. Coal -miners, with their lamps on their 
hats and clothes covered with dirt, just as they had rushed from 
the mines, were mingled with well dressed men and women. A 
number of coal-mine boys, with lamps on their hats, were drawn 
up in martial line in front of the depot. 

At 10 o'clock this morning lunch under the supervision of 
Wormley, of Washington, was served to those on the second 
section of_lhe train. A few miles west of Salineville there is a 
heavy grade, and the engine was unable to take the train up it. 
Another engine was sent for to assist, and the train was delayed 
25 minutes awaiting its arrival. At Summitville, Ohio, there 
was a large gathering to view the passing of the trains. The 
main streets were filled with occupied vehicles and the depot 
was crowded with people. The same scenes were re])eated at 
Bayard, Ohio, and other stations along the route. From the 
number of carriages at each place it would seem that the peo- 
ple had come to town from all the surrounding country. 

Alliance, Ohio, was the next point at which the Congressional 
train stopped. The crowd here was immense, and manifestations 
of grief were recognizable on every hand. There were about 
3000 people present when the funeral train passed. While the 
Congressional train was standing in the Alliance station quite a 
number of people gathered around Senator Don Cameron's car 
and requested the privilege of shaking hands with that gentle- 
man and Senator Logan. The wishes of only a few of them, 
however, were granted. At Atwater, the next station west of 
Alliance, quite a crowd was gathered at the station. The train 
stopped for water at Ravenna at 11.31. Here a large number 
of people were assembled. The buildings were draped in 
mourning, and there was a general manifestation of sorrow. 
This was the last stop which the train made before reaching its 
destination. 

At 1.30 this afternoon the train bearing the remains of the 
murdered President arrived here on schedule time, and 20 min- 
utes later the Congressional train rolled into the depot. The 
mournful journey had been made without accident of any kind, 
and the pageant had been witnessed by more sorrowing citizens 
than ever before looked upon a funeral train in this country. 



308 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



OLD FRIENDS — THE PROCESSION DOWN EUCLID AVENUE 

PLACING THE BODY ON THE CATAFALQUE IN THE PUBLIC 
SQUARE ELABORATE FLORAL OFFERINGS AND DECORATIONS. 

All that remains on earth of James A. Garfield now lies in the 
heart of this city, which he loved so well. It has been a sad 
day in Cleveland. Upon the streets which have so often felt 
his step, the people walked with mournful faces, for under the 
dark canopy on their public square lay the body of him who 
was the flower of the manhood of their State, whom they had 
given to their country, and who had yielded up his life in their 
country's service while holding the highest office which the 
Republic could bestow upon him. All classes and all ages are 
bowed in sorrow, for in health he was very near to all, and 
his sufferings had brought him close to the heart of every 
family. The dark train, which passed like a dreadful shadow 
over the country, bright with the light of a September sun, 
found men and women kneeling or standing, with uncovered 
heads and tearful eyes, along the way in the State where the 
struggles of his youth and the achievements of his manhood 
were equally well known. It is a great blow to the people of 
North-eastern Ohio and this city. It is not the hearty, cheerful, 
robust man with his hand extended to every one, who comes 
back to the scenes of his youth and the people whom he so long 
represented and so warmly loved ; it is the voiceless clay, soon 
to be hidden in the darkness of the tomb. 

As the funeral train sped on its way from the East over the 
mountains to the shore of Lake Erie its passage was noted and 
announced here from every station, so that the time of its ar- 
rival was well known to those who were awaiting it. It was 
said that the train would reach the Euclid Avenue station at 
1.15 o'clock. For several hours before that time the people of 
the city and the surrounding country had been gathering around 
the station and on the broad sidewalks which lie between it and 
the Public Square. The work of displaying the symbols of 
mourning upon private dwellings and public buildings had been 
finished, but at 1 o'clock workmen were still engaged in com- 
pleting the paviUon which shields the catafalque and the arches 
which have been erected on each side of the central square. At 
1.20 those who were standing upon the platform of the Euclid 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. 309 

Avenue station saw the black engine and its line of shrouded cars 
approaching^, and at 1.21 the funeral train rolled in, while the 
engineer slowly tolled his bell. So heavy was the funeral drapery 
that very little of the ordinary exterior of the engine, tender, or 
cars could be seen. Black flags hung from the pilot, and the sides 
of the tender were completely hidden by the folds which had 
been placed over them. Here and there on the passenger cars 
the drapery had been slightly disturbed by the wind which had 
blown upon the swiftly moving train, but nearly all of the folds 
remained intact. 

For a moment after the train had stopped the silence was 
unbroken and no one appeared at the doors or windows. Then 
the relatives and friends and members of the escort stepped 
down upon the platform. The arrangements were not of so 
formal a character as at Long Branch and Washington. Among 
the first who appeared was Marshal Henry, the late President's 
trusted friend, whose big heart and warm sympathy are not 
concealed by a sturdy exterior. He had come at last with the 
body of his friend to those friends in Ohio, between whom and 
the suffering President he had been a link of communication. 
Next appeared the General of the Army in full uniform, and he 
was followed by a long line of the prominent officers of the 
Army and Navy who were to take their places in the escort. 
These distinguished men and some of the attendants of the 
White House, with the members of the Cleveland committee, 
gathered in little groups upon the platform and consulted in 
low tones. Near Gen. Sherman stood Gen. Winfield S. Han- 
cock, with tearful eyes. He had come to bear his part in 
paying respect to his late commander, whom he had opposed in 
vain upon the field of politics. His eyes were not fixed upon 
the group around him, and he seemed to be thinking of the 
awful event which had taken from life the man who had reached 
the position which he also had striven to attain. In a few 
minutes the officers formed in two lines, between which passed 
the stricken relatives and friends and the members of the late 
President's Cabinet. There were Dr. Boynton, the untiring 
nurse and faithful friend ; Gen. Swaim and Col. Rockwell, who 
had loved the President with the love of brothers ; Col. Corbin, 
with the orphaned daughter of the President leaning upon him, 
and then the noble widow, with her son, and the Secretary of 
State, careworn and sorrowful. Mrs. Garfield w?i.s at once taketi 



310 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

to the house of a friend, and she did not appear in the pro- 
cession. These were followed by ex-President Hayes, Chief- 
Justice Waite, Secretary Windom, Gov. Foster, the Rev. F. D. 
Power, pastor of the little church on Vermont Avenue, in Wash- 
ington, with which the late President had been connected, and 
the Rev. Isaac Errett ; Postmaster-General James and Mrs. James, 
Secretary Lincoln, Attorney-General MacVeagh and Mrs. Mac- 
Veagh, Secretary Hunt, J. Stanley Brown, the late President's 
private secretary, and Warren S. Young ; Dr. Hawkes, the tutor 
of the late President's sons ; Associate Justices Strong and 
MatthewSjOf the Supreme Court, and others who had served the 
late President during his illness, or who were members of the 
official escort. 

As soon as these living occupants of the train had departed, 
the soldiers of the Second Artillery, to whom had been assigned 
the duty of bearing the coffin to the hearse, came forward to 
remove the body from the car. Their white helmets and blue 
and red uniforms were in strong contrast with the dark gar- 
ments of the relatives and friends. The coffin was gently 
moved from its resting-place, passed through the door of the 
car, and placed upon the shoulders of the artillerymen, who 
bore it along the platform and through the lines to the street, 
where the hearse was guarded by the veterans of Gen. Garfield's 
old regiment, the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers, who bore the 
clothing of civil life. The commanderies of Knights Templar 
and the Cleveland Grays and other organizations were awaiting 
the movements of the procession. The hearse was a plain but 
costly one, furnished by local undertakers, and drawn by four 
handsome black horses, which were covered with black robes 
fringed with silver. The body of the hearse was enveloped in 
crape. A colored man led each horse. These colored men 
had performed the same duty at the obsequies of President 
Lincoln. 

Several members of Congress had come directly to this city 
to join the procession, and these appeared on the platform 
before the arrival of the second section of the funeral train, 
which carried the remainder of the Congressional delegation. 
The funeral train arrived at 1.21, the casket was placed in the 
hearse at 1.31, and the doors of the hearse were closed at 1.34. 
The Congressional train soon arrived, and its occupants formed 
in line upon the platform. Among those who had come were 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 311 

Senators Sherman, Bayard, Ingalls, Pugh, Anthony, Camden, 
Blair, Morgan, Garland, Edmunds, Beck, Kellogg, Jonas, Jones 
of Florida, Jones of Nevada, Groome, Logan, Hawley, Cameron 
of Pennsylvania, Senator-elect Miller and ex-Senator Chaffee, 
ex- Speaker Randall, Representatives J. R. Tucker, Hiscock, 
Kasson, Amos Townsend, Wilson, and McCook, and ex-Repre- 
sentative Starin. Gov. Jewell, of Connecticut; Sergeant-at- 
Arms Bright, of the House, and Commissioner Loring were 
also in the line. Senator Pendleton had awaited the coming of 
the train at the station. 

Great crowds had gathered around the depot. The tops of 
the neighboring houses were covered with men and women, and 
an old baggage-car was so covered with human beings that the 
wood-work could not be seen. Down the avenue as far as +^e 
eye could reach the lines of sorrowing people extended. T^^e 
Congressional train moved away from the station while the pro- 
cession was forming. The cars, like those of the funeral train, 
were heavily draped in mourning. The people crowded into 
the center of the street, but were restrained by the members of 
a local military company. In the open space in front of the 
depot stood a photographer aranging his camera. Near at hand 
were the delegates from Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knights 
Templar, of Washington, and the members of Oriental and 
Holy wood Commanderies, of this city. 

The scene on Euclid Avenue was grand, impressive, and affect- 
ing. There are few thoroughfares in the world which rival this 
in beauty. The broad roadway runs for miles between rows of 
stately dwellings, which are surrounded by spacious grounds 
and shaded by numerous trees from the station to the public 
square. The sidewalks and broad porches were filled with 
people. The display of symbols of mourning and grief upon 
the house-fronts was remarkable. Some of the larger mansions 
were almost hidden in folds of black. The pillars of porticos 
were covered with black and white. Large portraits of the 
murdered President were frequently exhibited. Huge anchors 
of black and white had been placed in the windows. Flags at 
half-mast with wide black borders floated from many a lofty 
staff. In some of these exhibitions rare taste was shown. The 
avenue, like the business streets, had put on mourning garments, 
and in the outskirts of the city, where the poor live in humble 
dwellings, the display was universal. 



312 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

The mournful journey to the catafalque was begun. In ad- 
vance were three platoons of policemen, each line stretching 
from one curbstone to the other. These were followed by Col. 
John M. Wilson, United States Army, and staff, who rode in 
front of the Cleveland Grays' band, whose drums were muffled 
and whose bright instruments were bound with crape. A fine 
body of mounted men, the First City Troop, rode slowly behind 
the band and preceded the carriages which contained the local 
Committee of Arrangements. These were followed by Gov. 
Foster, of Ohio, and his staff. Next in order marched delegates 
representing Columbia Commandery, No. 2, Knight's Templar, 
of Washington. Directly in the rear of these was the body of 
the President, drawn by black horses, which were held by 
colored grooms by means of silver cords. The body was 
guarded by the United States artillerymen who had borne it 
from the railway car. Following the body were eight drum- 
mers whose drums were muffled and covered with crape. The 
outer guards consisted of long lines of Knights Templar from 
local commanderies. These were followed by the Cleveland 
Grays, a company wearing gray uniforms and huge shakos of 
bearskin. Their marching was superb. Then came the sor- 
rowful handful of veterans from Gen. Garfield's old regiment, 
the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers, in citizen's clothing. There 
were forty-six of these men, and they carried their torn and blood- 
stained battle-flags closely furled and bound with crape. A 
long line of carriages then appeared, bearing the members of 
the Cabinet, the officers of the Army and Navy, the Governors 
of States, Senators, Representatives in Congress, and other dis- 
tinguished visitors. In one carriage were Gen. Sherman, 
Admiral Nichols, and Gen. Sheridan. As the horses walked 
slowlv past, other well-known faces were seen — those of Secre- 
tary Windom, Gen. Swaim, Secretary Hunt, Postmaster-General 
James, Attorney-General Mac Yeagh, Secretary Blaine, Secretary 
Lincoln, Speaker Randall, Gov. Jewell, in a carriage by himself; 
in another carriage. Senator Edmunds, Senator Garland, Senator 
Beck, and Sergeant-at-Arms Bright; in another. Senators 
Groome, Jonas, and Pendleton ; in another, Senators Kellogg, 
McMillan, Hawley, and Miller, and in another, Col. Corbin and 
other near friends of the family. 

The procession moved slowly to the measures of a mournful 
dirge. At 3 o'clock the vanguard reached the black arch 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. gig 

which spanned the entrance of the public square. The road- 
ways around the square were blocked with people, but there 
were very few within the enclosure. Unfortunately, the arch 
had not been completed, and some of the woodwork was not 
yet covered with cloth, nor had the pavilion over the catafalque 
itself been finished. Men had been busily engaged upon it all 
the morning, and the derricks were still by its side. The pavil- 
ion is an imposing structure. The floor upon which the cata- 
falque rests is 5^ feet above the ground, and is approached over 
an inclined plane from the east and the west. The pavilion is 
square, and the arched openings face the four points of the 
compass. At the apex of the roof is a large gilded globe. The 
arched openings at the sides are 24 feet wide and 30 feet long. 
The floor is 45 feet square. The columns at the angles of the 
pavilion are graced by minarets of festooned flags, and from each 
corner hangs a large black banner. Draped field-pieces are 
placed a short distance from each corner. The facades are or- 
namented with beautiful floral emblems. The floral offerings 
displayed within the pavilion are rare, and some of them deserve 
description. A large cross of begonias and ivy, with arms of 
ferns and begonias, bears a heart made of rosebuds. Beneath 
is an anchor of white balsams. A large Bible of white balsams 
lies open, its pages studded with rosebuds, carnations, and tube- 
roses. Part of a beautiful altar piece consists of an open book 
of pink and white balsams and tuberoses, with pale yellow buds 
on the pages. A cross of white balsams, white asters, white 
roses, and carnations towers above it. A lyre of balsams and 
rosebuds lies against a green column, over which birds hover. 
Another piece represents a dreary stubble-field, brown and bare, 
bearing one garnered sheaf, at the foot of which lies a sickle of 
balsams and rosebuds and tuberoses, and the word "Gathered" 
in purple immortelles. There is a beautiful floral picture of 
"The Gates Ajar." A monument of white balsams and tube- 
roses has its base banded with pink, and upon the apex is a dove 
with folded wings. There are many massive emblems made of 
rare flowers. A lighthouse of balsams, tuberoses, begonias, and 
geranium leaves, with a broad base of fern leaves and begonias, 
bears a shield on which in purple immortelles are the words: 
" Garfield — a Beacon to Posterity." In another structure the 
States are represented by columns of ivy or smilax, with the 
name of each in white immortellesj while over all is an arch 
U 



314 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

which bears the words, " Columbia mourns her son." Another 
example of artistic skill represents a ship dismantled and 
Wrecked, with her sails and ropes torn. She is beating upon 
rocks, and flowers and leaves are floating away on the waves. 
A list of these offerings would be almost endless. Two carloads 
of them were sent from Cincinnati. 

When the police reached the archway at the entrance of the 
public square, the space within the pavilion was guarded by 
soldiers, who mournfully paced to and fro. The breeze from the 
lake fitfully shook the great black banners which hung from the 
corners of the pavilion. As the head of the procession entered 
the public square, the bell of the First Presbyterian Church, 
near at hand, began to toll. The band, continuing the dirge, 
filed in and stood at one side of the space between the arch and 
the pavilion. The Templars followed them, and formed in lines 
extending on each side of the way from the arch to the cata- 
falque. The delegates from Columbia Commandery entered the 
pavilion. The remaining Templars guarded the space over 
which the body must pass. Marshal Henry and the local com- 
mittee came up the inclined plane, and the grooms led the black 
horses into the public square. The Templars presented their 
swords. The band began the mournful strains of Pleyel's 
Hymn, playing softly and tenderly. Gov. Foster and his staff 
took places in the pavilion, and then the eight artillerymen took 
the coffin from the hearse and bore it slowly up the inclined 
plane to the catafalque, upon which they placed it. The clay 
which had been James A. Garfield was lying in the city of his 
dearest friends. It had almost reached its last resting-place. 

The scene was one to be remembered. There was a deep 
solemnity about every action and every whispered word. The 
eye, glancing down between the lines of Templars and through 
the archway, saw the troops quietly wheeling and preparing to 
depart. So still was it in the presence of the great multitude 
which surrounded the square that the rustling of the plants 
which adorned the pavilion as the breeze swept by them was 
i'hiinly heard. The cofllin having been deposited in its place, 
i!ie hearse was taken away. The Templars wheeled before the 
I>avilion and prepared to depart. Twelve privates of the Cleve- 
land Grays marched to the front of the pavilion and then, three 
at a time, went up and took their places as guards around the 
catafalque, They were directed by Adjutant-General Smith to 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 315 

allow no one to enter the pavilion. The remainder of the com- 
pany departed, and the Templars followed them, leaving four of 
their number to act as guard. Three minutes afterwards the 
war-worn veterans of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers marched 
up to the entrance of the pavilion, and passed out of the square 
by a gate at the right. The ceremony was over. 

The structure and the whole square was illuminated by electric 
lights. Upon one side of the pavilion a long fire-ladder extends 
to the roof to aid the workmen. The gilded pillars of the cata- 
falque have been draped with crape. Upon the coflBn lay the 
palm leaves and the wreath sent by Queen Victoria, which have 
not been removed &ince the body was placed in the Capitol. At 
the head of the coflSn laid a scroll bearing the following words ; 

"Life's race well run, 
Life's work well done, 
Life's crown well won. 
Now comes rest." 



THE MARTYR LAID AT REST. 

LAST SAD RITES OVER PRESIDENT GARFIELd's BODY A GREAT 

ASSEMBLAGE GATHERS TO DO HIM HONOR THE SCENE IN 

THE PAVILION ELOQUENT WORDS FROM THE REV. DRS. ER- 

RETT AND JONES THE FUNERAL PAGEANT THE PATH TO 

THE VAULT CARPETED WITH FLOWERS PUTTING AWAY THE 

DEAD CHIEF FOREVER. 

Cleveland, Sept. 26. — The last honors have been paid to the 
clay which once held the soul of James Abram Garfield, and the 
last page of the pathetic record which began on the 2d of 
July has been turned, and the body of the murdered President 
now lies in that beautiful cemetery -which he had chosen for his 
last resting-place. Brought to them from the sea through ranks 
of sorrowing people, the relatives, neighbors, and friends have 
to-day seen it laid away in the house of silence in the city of the 
dead. They have known that the whole civilized world was 
mourning with them over the coflan of one -whose birth-place 
was a log cabin in the wilderness. They have seen his body 
followed to the tomb by a mighty procession, in which the plain 



816 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

people and the poor laborer walked with the greatest statesmen 
and soldiers of the Republic. They sent him forth, they have 
received him again. He will greet them no more, but the mem- 
ory of his greatness and his goodness will forever be the most 
precious possession of his State and of the honest people among 
whom he was born and by whose side he grew until his name 
was known wherever intelligence and integrity are honored and 
freedom is prized. 

Throughout the night the stream of mourners never ceased to 
pass the coffin, which lay in state at the centre of the public 
square. Beyond the gates there was some conversation in the 
line, but when the mourners had passed under the arch on which 
the onward steps of the late President's life were so simply and 
plainly symbolized, all these sounds were hushed, and nothing 
could be heard except the steady shuffle of feet upon the path- 
ways. The electric lights shone down upon the bared heads of 
these sorrowing friends and the sleeping soldiers stretched upon 
the grass. The night passed and dawn came, but still the peo- 
ple passed on by the coffin. The special trains in the morning 
brought thousands more who sought places in the line. B it as 
the time for the beginning of the funeral ceremonies drew near 
it became necessary to close the gates, and at 9.10 o'clock the 
stream was checked. It is estimated that about two hundred 
thousand persons have passed the coffin since it has lain in 
Cleveland. 

At a little before 10 o'clock the preparations for the ceremo- 
nies upon the public square began. South of the pavilion and 
catafalque a large number of seats had been placed for the guard 
of honor, the justices of the Supreme Court, the governors of 
States, the members of the United States Senate and House of 
Representatives, the officers of the army and navy, members of 
the Army of the Cumberland, the classmates of the late Presi- 
dent, the mayors of cities, members of boards of aldermen and 
councilmen, and the representatives of the press. In the rear 
of these seats were the singers who were to supply the music. 
Near the justices and governors was a little place reserved for 
the clergymen who were to conduct the services. The sun's 
rays were oppressively hot, and while those entitled to seats 
were taking their places the funeral car which was to bear the 
body to the cemetery was drawn into the square from the east 
by twelve black horses, harnessed four abreast. Each horse was 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 317 

covered by a black robe, fringed with gold, and the six grooms, 
who performed a similar duty when the body of President Lin- 
coln was in Cleveland, were in attendance, holding the horses by 
black cords. The platform of the car was eight feet wide and 
sixteen feet long, and the height of the structure was twenty 
feet. The sombre canopy was supported by six columns, draped 
in black broadcloth and garlands of immortelles. Festoons of 
black broadcloth, with wreaths of white immortelles, were sus- 
pended from the cornice. At the four corners were standards 
supporting flags furled and draped in crape, and at the four coi-- 
ners of the cornices of the canopy were black and white plumes. 
Other plumes were at each corner of the lantern which rose 
above the canopy, and before this lantern were an urn and 
wreaths of white immortelles. Between the pillars could be 
seen the raised platform on which the body was to be placed. 
The spirited horses taxed the strength of the grooms to the ut- 
most as they strove to guide them. 

Although the reserved seats were not filled, the streets around 
the public square were blocked with great masses of people. 
Beyond them could be heard the sound of marching men who 
were wheeling into the long line of the procession. The Marine 
Band of Washington came in through the west gate and march- 
ed around the pavilion to the east gate on their way to their 
places. Following them were Knights Templar. Upon the 
grass at the left of the catafalque were the cameras of two en- 
terprising photographers. At 10 o'clock the chosen members 
of the Cleveland Grays and the four Templars were still guard- 
ing the body. A few of the reserved seats were occupied. Near 
their chairs were Chief Justice Waite, Associate Justice Mat- 
thews, and Associate Justice Strong, shielded from the burning 
sun by umbrellas. Upon the table lay a large Bible, to be used 
by the clergymen. A few minutes later General W. T. Sher- 
man came to his seat with Adjutant-General Rogers, General 
Sheridan, Admiral Stanley, General Hancock, Commodore Eng- 
lish, Quartermaster-General Meigs, Surgeon-General Wales, of 
the navy. Adjutant. -General Drum, Chief Paymaster Lodkor, 
Colonel Tourtellotte, and Colonel Ward. They were followed by 
Senators Baldwin, Kellogg, Logan, Don Cameron, Jonas, Conger, 
Miller, Pendleton, Beck, Edmunds, Garland, Blair, Pugh, Ingalls, 
Anthony, Morgan, Bayard, Sherman, Camden, Jones of Florida, 
McMillan, Sawyer, Hawley, Harrison, and Saunders, and ex-Sen- 



318 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

ator McDonald. Each Senator wore a broad white sash or re- 
galia on which was a rosette of black and white. The sun beat 
down on them unmercifully and the heat was hard to endure. 
The space from the catafalque to the funeral car was guarded 
for the first time by rows of weatherbeaten marines from the 
Michigan, which was lying in the harbor. The number of per- 
sons on the funeral pavilion rapidly increased after 10 o'clock. 
Among those who came was ex-President Hayes, who could be 
seen talking with ex-Secretary Evarts. While the distinguished 
persons to whom seats had been assigned were taking their places, 
carriages were seen coming into the public square. The first car- 
riage was drawn by two beautiful white horses. The door was 
opened, and a young man with a mournful face alighted and 
then assisted lo the ground a lady clad in deep black. These 
were the President's widow and his son Harry. With them was 
one of the President's little boys. Another figure, bent with 
age and leaning on the arms of two of the late President's de- 
voted friends, slowly ascended the inclined plane and took a 
scat on the north side, not far from the coffin. This was the 
late President's mother, who saw him assume his high position 
in Washington, and whom he tenderly kissed on that day after 
he had taken the oath at the east front of the Capitol. Other 
carriages came, bearing other relatives of the dead President 
and the members of his Cabinet. These took their places in 
the pavilion. Mrs. Blaine stood for some time by the side of 
the catafalque shielding from the sun the venerable head of the 
late President's mother, which was lying on the coffin which 
held the body of her son. The aged lady wept quietly, and 
prayed. There were many tearful eyes in the pavilion. A long 
line of Representatives took their places in the rear of the Sena- 
tors. Among these were ex-Speaker Randall, ex-Speaker Banks, 
and Messrs. Hiscock, Starin, Hubbell, Townsend, Newberry, 
McKinly, McCook, and Chalmers of Mississippi. Each of the 
Representatives wore a broad white sash. Soon afterward 
Governor Cornell, of New York, and his staff came and took 
their seats. The other governors present were Bigelow, of Con- 
necticut; Foster, of Ohio; Ludlow, of New Jersey; Hoyt, of 
Pennsylvania ; Callom, of Illinois ; Gear, of Iowa ; Porter, of 
Indiana ; Blackburn, of Kentucky ; Smith, of Wisconsin ; Jack- 
son, of West Virginia ; Pitkin, of Colorado ; Jerome, of Michi- 
gan; Hawkins, of Tennessee; and Jarvis, of North Carolina. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 319 

For some time the carriages continued to pass before the 
pavihon, until nearly all the space in it was occupied by the 
relatives and near friends of the departed hero. 

THE SERVICES IN THE PAVILION. 

Then the clergymen took the seats reserved for them. 
Around a small table sat the Rev. Isaac Errett, of the CburcL 
of the Disciples ; the Right Rev. Bishop Bedell, of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church ; the Rev. Dr. Houghton, of the Meth- 
odist Church ; the Rev. Jabez Hall, of the Church of the Disci- 
ples, and the Rev. Dr. Charles S. Pomeroy, of the Presbyterian 
Church. The programme was as follows : 

GARFIELD OBSEQUIES. 

Sept. 26, 1881, Cleveland. 
Services at Pavilion. 
The Hon. J. P. Robison, presiding. 
Singing by the Cleveland Vocal Society. 
Reading of Scriptures by the Right Rev. Bishop G. T. Bedell. 
Prayer by a representative of the Methodist Episcopal Con- 
ference in session in Painesville. 
Singing by the Cleveland Vocal Society. 
Address by the Rev. I. Errett, of Cincinnati. 
Hymn to be read by the Rev. Jabez Hall, of the Euclid Avenue 
Christian Church, and sung by the Cleveland 
Vocal Society. 
Prayer and Benediction by the Rev. Charles S. Pomeroy. 

Services at Lake View Cemetery. 

Remarks by the Rev. J. H. Jones, Chaplain of the Forty-second 

Regiment. 

Singing by the Cleveland German vocal societies. 

President Garfield's favorite ode. 

Prayer and Benediction by President B. A. Hinsdale. 

At 10.40 o'clock the relatives and friends and distinguished 
persons in the reserved seats were in their places, and Dr. Robi- 
son arose and said, " The exercises will be opened now by 
singing by the Vocal Society of Cleveland." When the singing 
was ended Bishop Bedell read the first and second verses of the 
fourteenth chapter of Job, the first four verses of the 90th Psalm, 



320 ^-S"^ ASSASSmATIOM OF 

a large portion of the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and 
the isth verse of the fourteenth chapter of Revelations. These 
passages were read clearly and impressively. The prayer which 
followed was offered by the Rev. Ross M. Houghton, over 
whose head another clergyman held an umbrella. 

" O God, our Father, we bow before Thee with the weight 
of a great sorrow upon our hearts. Our beloved President is 
dead, and all our hopes which depended on his wisdom and his 
jntegrity for their fulfilment are blighted. Just why Thou hast 
suffered this sore trial to come upon us we cannot tell, for as 
Thou hast not informed us of the secrets of Thy government, 
Thy thoughts are not our thoughts, Thy ways are not our ways. 
We bow in humble submission to Thy will, and we pray for 
divine help that we may not, for one moment even, doubt Thy 
wisdom or love. May the dark clouds that hang over us burst 
in blessing on our heads. O God, we acknowledge our sins 
and implore Thy mercy ; we rest in Thy love, and we trust Thee 
:o do for us all that is wisest and all that is best. .We pray, 
God, that this great disappointment and this great grief may 
be for the nation's good and Thine own everlasting glory. We 
rejoice in the light from Thy throne, which already begins to 
dispel our darkness, and we believe that although the earnest 
prayer of this nation for the recovery of our President has not 
been granted, still Thou might not fail in Thine infinite mercy 
and in Thine infinite love, through his death, to bring to us 
blessings more available. O God, we thank Thee for the no- 
ble, grand character of our departed President, which stood out 
?o prominent before the nation and before the world ; and we pray 
that the righteousness which he loved and which he exemplified 
may prevail in all the land. Amid all changes. Thou only art 
the abiding One. The world and the things of the world are 
passing away, but in the possession of Thy love we are safe and 
secure. Hide us there, O God, till all earth's calamities be 
over and past. Regard in mercy, we pray Thee, the aged 
mother, the devoted wife, and orphan children of our departed 
ruler, as their hearts are overwhelmed. O compassionate 
Saviour, draw them to Thyself ; may they rest upon Thy 
bosom ; may they find peace and hope and joy in the fulfil- 
ment of Thy precious promises. May the mantle of the noble 
father fall upon those worthy sons, and may every member of 
this stricken family be able to say through the inspiration of 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD, 321 

love and submission, * Father, Thy will, not mine, be done ! ' 
Grant, O God ! that this calamity, this great affliction, may 
draw this family and this suffering nation to a nearer relation- 
ship and a more loving fellowship with Thee, and amid the 
mysteries of seemingly conflicting dispensations, grant that we 
may look forward by faith to the day when we shall hear Thy 
voice say, 'Said I not unto them, If thou wouldst believe thou 
shouldst see and live'? Let also Thy blessings, rich and full, 
rest upon Thy servant who has been called upon to fulfill the 
grave responsibilities of Chief Magistrate of the nation so sud- 
denly and unexpectedly. Bless his Cabinet. Bless all who are 
associated with him m ^...e affairs of this Government. May 
they be men after Thine own heart. May we be, and continue 
to be, despite our calamities, a prosperous and happy people. 
Prepare us with Thy divine help and divine blessing for the 
further duties of this solemn hour, and grant to us when we lay 
aside all that is mortal and all that remains of our beloved 
brother in the silent grave, it may be with the blessed hope of 
the resurrection from the dead where we shall be forever with 
the Lord. Guide us by Thy counsel ; afterwards receive us to 
Thine excellent glory. We ask it through Christ the Lord. 
Amen." 

During this prayer the fire-alarm sounded. The Ashtabula 
Light Artillery bad begun to fire minute guns in Lake View 
Park, and from this time on the reports were plainly heard on 
the square. 

THE REV. DR. ERRETt's ADDRESS. 

The address made by the Rev. Isaac Errett did not depend 
for effect upon the graces of oratory or the beauties of rhetoric. 
It was a plain and earnest review of the life and work of the 
late President, an appeal to the living to profit by the lessons of 
his death, and a prayer that the stricken family might find com- 
fort in communion with God. His text was as follows : 

" And the archers shot at King Josiah, and the King said to 
his servants. Have me away, for I am sore wounded." 

" His servants, therefore, took him out of that chariot and 
put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought 
him to Jerusalem, and he died and was buried in one of the 
sepulchres of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem tnourncd 
for Josiah. 
14* 



322 THE ASSASSINATION Off 

" And Jeremiali lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men 
and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations, 
and made them an ordinance in Israel, and, behold, they are 
written in the Lamentations. 

" Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness accord- 
ing to that which was written in the law of the Lord. 

"And his deeds first and last, behold, they are written in the 
Book of the Kings of Israel and of Judah. 

" For behold, the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, doth take away 
from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff; the 
whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water; the mighty 
man and the man of war, and the prophet, and the ancient, the 
captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and 
the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. 

" The voice said, ' Cry,' and he said, ' What shall I cry ? ' All 
flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of 
the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the 
Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass, 
the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the word of our God 
shall stand forever." 

Dr. Errett spoke as follows : 

" This is a time for mourning that has no parallel in the his- 
tory of the world. Death is constantly occurring every day 
and every hour, and almost every moment some life expires and 
somewhere there are broken hearts and desolate homes; but we 
have learned to accept the unavoidable, and we pause a moment 
and drop a tear and away again to the excitements and ambi- 
tions of life and forget it all. Sometimes a life is called for 
that plunges a large community in mourning, and sometimes 
whole nations mourn the loss of a good king, or a wise states- 
man, or an eminent sage, or a great philosopher, or a philan- 
thropist, or a martyr who has laid his life upon the altar of 
truth and won for himself an envious immortality among the sons 
of men. But there was never a mourning in all the world like 
unto this mourning. I am not speaking extravagantly when I 
say this, for I am told it is the result of calculations carefully 
made from such data as are in possession that certainly not less 
than 300,000,000 of the human race share in the sadness and 
the lamentations and sorrow and mourning that belong to this 
occasion here to-day. It is a chill shadow of a fearful calamity 
that has extended itself into every home in all this land, and 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 323 

into every heart, and that has projected itself over vast seas 
and oceans into distant lands, and awakened the sincerest and 
profoundest sympathy with us in the hearts of the good people 
of the nations, and among all people. It is worth while, my 
friends, to pause a moment and to ask why this is. It is, 
doubtless, attributable in part to the wondrous triumphs of sci- 
ence and art within the present century, by means of which 
time and space have been so far conquered that nations, once 
far distant and necessarily alienated from each other, are 
brought into close communication, and the various ties of 
commerce and of social interests and of religious interests bring 
them into contact of fellowship that could not have been known 
in former times. It is likewise, unquestionably, partly due to 
the fact that this nation of ours has grown to such wondrous 
might and power before the whole earth, and which is, in fact, 
the hope of the world in all that relates to the highest civiliza- 
tion — that sympathy with this nation and respect for this great 
power leads to these offerings of condolence and expressions of 
sympathy and grief from the various nations of the earth, and 
because they have learned to respect and recognize that the 
nation is stricken in the fatal blow that has taken away our 
President from us. And yet this will by no means account for 
this marvellous and world-wide sympathy of which we are speak- 
ing. Yet it cannot be attributed to mere intellectual greatness, 
for there have been, and there are, other great men ; and, ac- 
knowledging all that the most enthusiastic heart could claim for 
our beloved leader, it is but fair to say that there have been 
more eminent educators, there have been greater soldiers, there 
have been more skilful and experienced and powerful legisla- 
tors and leaders of mighty parties and political forces. There 
is no one department in which he has more eminence where the 
world may not point to others who attained higher and more 
intellectual greatness. It might not be considered more right- 
eously here than in many other cases ; yet perhaps it is rare in 
the history of nations that any one man has combined so much 
of excellence in all those various departments, and who as an 
educator and a lawyer and a legislator and a soldier and a party 
chieftain and ruler has done so well, so thoroughly well, in all 
departments, and brought out such successful results as to in- 
spire confidence and command respect and approval in every path 
of life in which he has walked and in every department of public 



324 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

activity which he has occupied. Yet I think when we come to 
a proper estimate of his character and seek after the secret of 
this world-wide sympathy and affection, we shall find it rather 
in the richness and integrity of his moral nature, and in that 
sincerity, and in that transparent honesty, in that truthfulness, 
that lay the basis for everything of greatness to which we do 
honor to-day. 

" I may state here what perhaps is not generally known as an 
illustration of this. When James A. Garfield was yet a mere 
lad, in this county a series of religious meetings were held in 
one of the towns of Cuyahoga County by a minister by no 
means attractive as an orator, possessing none of the graces of 
an orator, and marked only by entire sincerity, by good reason- 
ing powers, and by earnestness in seeking to win souls from sin 
to righteousness. The lad Garfield attended these meetings for 
many nights, and after listening to the sermons niglit after 
night, he went one day to the minister and said to him : ' Sir, I 
have been listening to your preaching night after night, and 
I am fully persuaded that if these things you say are true it is 
the duty and the highest interest of every man of respectability, 
and especially of every young man, to accept that religion and 
seek to be a man. But, really, I don't know whether this thing 
is true or not. I can't say that I disbelieve it, but I dare not 
say that I fully and honestly believe it. If I were sure that it 
was true I would most gladly give it' my heart and my life.' 
So, after a long talk, the minister preached that night on the 
text, 'What is truth?' and proceeded to show that, notwith- 
standing all the various and conflicting theories and opinions in 
ethical science, and notwithstanding all the various and conflict- 
ing opinions in the world, there was one assured and eternal 
alliance for every human soul in Jesus Christ ; that every soul 
was safe with Jesus Christ; that He never would mislead ; that 
any young man giving Him his hand and heart and walking in 
His pathway would not go astray ; and that, whatever might be 
the solution of ten thousand insoluble mysteries, at the end of all 
things the man who loved Jesus Christ and walked after the 
footsteps of Jesus, and realized in spirit and life the pure morals 
and the sweet piety, was safe, if safety there were in the uni- 
verse of God ; safe, whatever else were safe ; safe, whatever 
else might prove unworthy and perish forever. And he seized 
upon it after due reflection, and came forward and gave his 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 325 

Land to the minister in pledge of his acceptance of the guidance 
of Christ for his life, and turned his back upon the sins of the 
world forever. The boy is father to the man, and that pure 
honesty and integrity, and that fearless spirit to inquire, and 
that brave surrender of all the charms of sin to convictions of 
duty and right, went with him from that boyhood throughout 
his life, and crowned him with the honors that were so cheer- 
fully awarded to him from all hearts over this vast land. There 
was another thing — he passed all the conditions of virtuous life 
between the log cabin in Cuyahoga and the White House, and 
in that wonderfully rich and varied experience, moving up from 
higher to higher, he has touched every heart in all this land at 
some point or other, and he became the representative of all 
hearts and lives in this land ; not only the teacher but the rep- 
resentative of all virtues, for he knew their wants and he knew 
their condition, and he established legitimately the ties of 
brotherhood with every man with whom he came in contact. 
I take it that this vow, lying at the basis of his character, this 
rock on which his whole life rested, followed up by the perpet- 
ual and enduring industry that marked his whole career, made 
him at once the honest and the capable man who invited and 
received in every act of his life the confidence and trust and 
love of all who learned to know him. 

" There is yet one other thing that I ought to mention here. 
There was such an admirable harmony of all his powers ; there 
was such a beautiful adjustment of the physical, intellectual, and 
moral in his being; there was such an equitable distribution of 
the physical, intellectual, and moral forces, that his nature looked 
out every way to get at sympathy with everything, and found 
about equal delight in all pursuits and all studies, so that he be- 
came, through his industry and honest ambition, really encyclo- 
paedic. There was scarcely any single chord that you could 
touch to which he would not respond in a way that made you 
know that his hand had swept it skilfully long ago, and there 
was no topic you could bring before him, there was no object 
you could present to him, that you did not wonder at the rich- 
ness and fullness of information somehow gathered; for his 
eyes were always open, and his heart was always open, and his 
brain was ever busy and equally interested in everything — the 
minute and the vast, the high and the low, in all classes and 
creeds of men. He thus gathered up that immense store and 



3^6 THE AS8A8SINA TION OF 

that immense variety of the most valuable and practical knowl- 
edge that made him a man, not in one department, but all 
around, everywhere in his whole beautiful and symmetrical life 
and character. 

" But, ray friends, the solemnity of this occasion forbids any 
further investigation in that line, any further details of a very 
remarkable life, for with these details you are familiar, or, if 
not, they will come before you through various channels here- 
after. It is my duty in the presence of the dead, and in view 
of all the solemnities that rest upon us, now in a solemn burial 
service, to call your attention to the great lesson taught you, 
and by which we ought to become wiser, purer, and better men. 
And I want to say, therefore, first of all, that there comes a voice 
from the dead to this entire nation, and not only to the people, 
but to those in places of trust, to our legislators and our gover- 
nors and our military men and our leaders of parties, and all 
classes and creeds in the Union. The great lesson to which I 
desire to call your attention can be expressed in a few words. 
James A. Garfield went through his whole public life without 
surrendering for a single moment his Christian integrity, his 
moral integrity, or his love for the spiritual. Coming into the 
exciting conflicts of political life with a nature as capable as any 
of feeling the force of every temptation, with temptations to un- 
holy ambition, with unlawful prizes within his reach, with every 
inducement to surrender all his religious faith and be known 
merely as a successful man of the world, from first to last he has 
manfully adhered to his religious convictions and found the 
more praise, and gathers in his death all the pure inspiration of 
the hope of everlasting life. I am very well aware of a feeling 
among political men, greatly shared in all over the land by those 
who engage in political life, that a man cannot afford to be a 
politician and a Christian ; that he must necessarily forego his 
obligations to God and be absorbed in the different measures of 
policy that may be necessary to enable him to achieve the de- 
sired result. Now, my friends, I call attention to this grand 
life as teaching a lesson altogether invaluable just at this point. 
I want you to look at that man. I want you to think of him 
when, in his early manhood, he was so openly committed to 
Christ and the principles of the Christian religion that he was 
frequently found among a people who allow a large liberty, oc- 
cupying a pulpit. You are within a few miles of the spot where 



PRESIDENT GAEFIELJ). 3^7 

the great congregations gathered, when he was yet almost a 
boy, just emerging into manhood, week after week, and hung 
upon the words that fell from his lips with wonder, admiration, 
and enthusiasm. It was when he was known to be occupying 
this position that he was invited to become a candidate for the 
Ohio State Senate. It was with the full knowledge of all that 
belonged to him, in his Christian faith and his efforts to live a 
Christian life, that this was tendered him ; and, without any re- 
sort to any dishonorable means, he was elected, and began his 
legislative career. When the country called to arms, when the 
Union was in danger and his great heart leaped with enthusi- 
asm and was filled with holiest desire and ambition to render 
some service to his country, it required no surrender of the dig- 
nity or nobleness of his Christian life to secure to him the hon- 
ors that fell upon him so thick and fast, and the successes that 
followed each other so rapidly as to make him the wonder of 
the world, though he entered upon that career wholly unac- 
quainted with military life, and could only win his way by the 
honesty of his purpose and the diligence and faithfulness with 
which he seized upon every opportunity to accomplish the work 
before him. Follow him from that time until he was called 
from the service in the field and the people of his district sent 
him to Congress, their hearts gathering about him without any 
effort on his part. They kept him there as long as he would 
stay, and they would have kept him there yet if he had said so. 
He remained there until, by the voice of the people of this State, 
he was made Senator, when there were other bright and strong 
and grand names — men who were entitled to recognition and 
reward, and altogether worthy in every way to bear senatorial 
honors. Yet there were such currents of admiration and sym- 
pathy and trust and love coming in and centring from all parts 
of the State that the action of the Legislature at Columbus was 
but the echo of the popular voice when, by acclamation, they 
gave him that place, and every other candidate gracefully re- 
tired. And then again, when he went to Chicago to serve the 
interest of another, when, as I knew, his own ambition was fully 
satisfied, and he had received that on which his heart was set, 
and looked with more than gladness to a path in life for which 
he thought his entire education and culture had prepared him. 
When wearied out with every effort to command a majority for 
any candidate, the hearts of that great convention turned on 



328 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

every side to James A. Garfield. In spite of himself and 
against every feeling, wish, and prayer of his own heart, this 
honor was crowded upon him, and the nation responded with 
holy enthusiasm from one end of the land to the other, and in 
the same honorable way he was elected to the chief magistracy 
under circumstances which, however great the bitterness of 
party conflict, caused all parties not only to acquiesce, but to 
feel proud in the consciousness that we had a chief magistrate 
of whom they need not be ashamed before the world, and unto 
whom they could safely confide the destinies of this mighty na- 
tion. Now, gentlemen, let me say to you all, those of you oc- 
cupying great places of trust who are here to-day, and the mass 
of those who are called upon to discharge the responsibilities of 
citizenship year by year, the most invaluable lesson that we 
learn from the life of our beloved departed President is, that 
not only is it not incompatible with success, but it is the surest 
means of success, to consecrate heart and life to that which is 
true and right, and above all question of mere policy, wedding 
the soul to truth and right and the God of truth and righteous- 
ness in holy wedlock never to be dissolved. I feel just at this 
point that we need this^esson. 

" This great, wondrous land of ours, this mighty nation in its 
marvellous upward career, with its ever-increasing power, open- 
ing its arms to receive from all lands people of all languages, all 
religions, and all conditions, and hoping in the warm embrace 
of political brotherhood to blend them with us, to melt them 
into a common mass, needs this lesson of virtue, so that when 
melted and ran over again in a new type of manhood it will 
incorporate all the various nations of the earth in one grand 
brotherhood, presenting before the nations of the world a spec- 
tacle of freedom and strength and prosperity and power beyond 
anything before known. Let me say the permanency of the 
work and its continual enlargement must depend on our main- 
taining virtue as well as intelligence, and making dominant in 
all the land those principles of pure morality that Jesiis Christ 
has taught us. Jnst as we cling to that we are safe, and just as 
we forget and depart from that we proceed toward disaster and 
ruin. And when we see what has been accomplished in a 
mighty life like this we have an instance of the power of truth 
and right which spreads from heart to heart, and from life to 
life, and from State to State, and finally from nation to nation. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. $29 

until, these pure principles reigning everywhere, God shall real 
ize His great purpose, so long ago expressed to us in the words 
of prophecy, that the kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our God and of his Christ, so that over the dead 
body of James A. Garfield may all the people join hands and 
swear by the Eternal God that they will dismiss all unworthy 
purposes and love and worship the true and the right, and in 
the inspiration of the grand principles that Jesus Christ taught 
seek to realize the grand ends to which His word of truth and 
right continually point us. 

" I cannot prolong my remarks to any great extent. There are 
two or three things that I must say, however, before I close. 
There is a voice to the Church in this death that I cannot pause 
now to speak of particularly. There is a tenderer and more 
awful voice that speaks to the members of the family ; to that 
sacred circle within which his really true life and character were 
better developed and more perfectly known than anywhere else. 
What words can tell the weight of anguish that rests upon the 
hearts of those who so dearly loved him and shared with him 
the sweet sanctities of his home ; the pure life, the gentleness, 
the kindness, and the manliness that pervaded all his actions and 
made his home a charming one for its inmates and for all who 
shared in its hospitalities? It is of all things the saddest aud 
most grievous now that those bound to him by the tenderest ties 
of the home circle are called to yield him to the grave ; to hear, 
that voice of love no more; to behold that manly form no 
longer moving in the sweet circle of home ; to receive no more 
the benediction from the loving hand of the father that rested 
upon the heads of his children and commanded the blessings of 
God upon them; the dear old mother who realizes here to-day 
that her fourscore years are after all but labor and sorrow, to 
whom we owe, back of all I have spoken of, the education and 
training that made him what he was, and who has been led 
from that humble home in the wilderness side by side with hiui 
in all his elevation, and assured him the triumph and the glor;, 
that came to him, step by step, as he mounted up from high t-. 
higher, to receive the highest honors that the land could be- 
stow upon him; left behind him, lingering on the shore, while 
he has passed over to the other side ; what words can express 
the sympathy that is due to her, or the consolation that can 
strengthen her heart and give her courage to bear this bitter be 



330 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

reavement ? And the wife, who began with him in her young 
womanhood, and has bravely kept step with him, right along 
through all his wondrous career, and who has been not only his 
wife but his friend and his counsellor through all their succession 
of prosperities and this increase of influence and power, and 
who, when the day of calamity came, was there, his ministering 
angel, his prophetess, and his priestess, when the circumstances 
were such as to forbid ministrations from other hands, speaking 
to him the words of cheer which sustained him through that 
long fearful struggle for life, and watching over him when his 
dying vision rested on her beloved form, and sought from her 
eyes an answering gaze that should speak when words could not 
be spoken, of a love that has never died, and that now must be 
immortal. And the children, who have grown up to an age 
when they can remember all that belonged to him, left father- 
less in a world like this, yet surrounded with a nation's sympa- 
thy and with a world's affection, and able to treasure in their 
hearts the grand lessons of his noble and wondrous life, may be 
assured that the eyes of the nation are upon them, and that the 
hearts of the people go out after them. While there is much 
to support and encourage, it is still a sad thing, and calls for 
our deepest sympathy, that they have lost such a father and are 
left to make their way through this rough world without his 
guiding hand or his wise counsels. But that which makes this 
terrible to them now is just that which, as the years go by, will 
make very sweet and bright and joyous memories to fill the com- 
ing years. By the very loss which they deplore, and by all the 
loving actions that bound them in blessed sympathy in the 
home circle, they will live over again ten thousand times all the 
sweet Hfe of the past, and though dead he will still live with 
them, and though his tongue be dumb in the grave it will speak 
anew to them ten thousand beautiful lessons of love and right- 
eousness and truth. May God, in His infinite mercy, fold them 
in His arms and bless them as they need in this hour of thick 
darkness, and bear them safely through what remains of the 
troubles and sorrows of their earthly pilgrimage unto the ever- 
lasting home where there shall be no more death nor crying, 
neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things shall 
have forever passed away. We commit you, beloved friends, 
to the arms and the care of the everlasting Father, who has 
promised to be the God of the widow and the Father of the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 331 

fatherless in His holy habitation, and whose sweet pronoise goes 
with us through all the dark and stormy paths of life — ' I will 
never leave thee nor forsake thee.' 

" I have discharged now the solemn covenant and trust reposed 
in me many years ago, in harmony with a friendship that has 
never known a cloud, a confidence that has never trembled, and 
a love that has never changed. Farewell, my friend and broth- 
er, thou hast fought a good fight ; thou hast finished thy course ; 
thou hast kept thy faith ; henceforth there is laid up for thee a 
crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
will give to thee in that day ; and not unto thee alone, but unto 
all tlicm who love his appearing." 

Dr. Errett was listened to with close and earnest attention. 
He spoke for forty minutes, and when he closed a hush for a 
moment hung over the vast audience. 

The Rev. Jabez Hall then read General Garfield's favorite 
hymn, which was beautifully sung by the Vocal Society : 

Ho, reapers of life's harvest, 

Why stand with rusted blade 
Until the night draws round the 

And day begins to fade? 
Why stand ye idle, waiting 

For reapers more to come? 
The golden morn is passing, 

Why sit ye idle, dumb? 

Thrust in your sharpened sickle 

And gather in the grain ; 
The night is fast approaching 

And soon will come again. 
The Master calls for reapers, 

And shall he call in vain? 
Shall sheaves lie there, ungathered 

And waste upon the plain? 

Mount up the heights of wisdom 

And crush eacli error low. 
Keep back no words of knowledge 

That human hearts should know. 
Be faithful to thy mission 

In service of thy Lord, 
And then a golden chaplet 

Shall be thy just reward. 



332 'TEE A88A88INATI0N OF 



DR. 

The Rev. Dr. Pomeroy theii closed the ceremonies with the 
following prayer : 

" Eternal and ever-blessed God, thou alone art great. Clouds 
and darkness are round about thee. Righteousness and judg- 
ment are the habitation of thy throne. The eyes of all the 
world are upon us to-day as solemnly we prepare to lay away 
the remains of our beloved chieftain in the tomb. The hearts 
of fifty millions are throbbing with our hearts as we pass 
through these solemn obsequies. And yet, O God, more im- 
pressive to us than all is the fact that, though we are poor and 
needy, the great God thinketh upon us. We thank thee, 
gracious Father, that we sorrow not to-day as those who are 
without hope, for we know that since Jesus died and rose again 
even so them, also, who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 
We thank thee, Father, for the very existence of such a man 
as him we mourn to-day. We thank thee that thou didst give 
him to our love, and we do bless thee, above all, that thou 
hast now bestowed upon him the greatest promotion of his ad- 
vancing life, even a seat at thy right hand in the glory of thy 
heavenly throne. Abide with us, gracious God; let thy gracious 
blessing rest upon these whose sorrow must be so much more 
intimate and intense than ours; upon this mother and this 
widow and the fatherless children, whom we commit in all confi- 
dence to thy divine and gracious care. O God! O God! be 
our shield. We thank thee for what thou hast done for thy 
people through these hours of darkness that have come out in 
light through thy blessing in the hope we entertain for him and 
for ourselves. We bless thee that thou hast crushed out skep- 
ticism under the power of this sorrow ; that thou hast led the 
people to press toward the throne of heavenly grace in suppli- 
cation, and that thou art ready still further to bless us and the 
nation whose God is the Lord. Now abide with us our Father ; 
abide with us even as a people, and at last take us all ; and as 
this great flood of humanity pours over the brink of death into 
the gulf of eternity, grant that we may, like him for whom we 
grieve to-day, be received into everlasting habitation, to be for- 
ever with the Lord, and all the praise shall be thine, through 
Jesus Christ, our Saviour. Amen. 

" And now, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of 



PBESIDENT QARFIELB. 833 

God, our Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be and 
remain with you all. Amen." 

y THE MARCH TO LAKE VIEW CEMETERY. 

The long column had formed in Superior Street and Euclid 
Avenue, and now the body was to be taken from the catafalque 
and placed in the funeral ear. The people who had been ad- 
mitted to the square formed on both sides of the passage from 
the catafalque to the gate, and the Marine Band played tenderly 
" Nearer, my God, to Thee," while the artillerymen approached 
the coffin. Reaching the foot of the inclined plane, they halted. 
Near the head of the coffin was a sorrowful group of the late 
President's dearest friends. There were Gen. Swaim, Col. 
Rockwell and Secretary Brown. These men have grown old 
since that fatal 2d of July. Especially true is this of Col. Rock- 
well. Near them was Mrs. Rockwell, weeping, and Capt. Henry 
and William S. Roose, of Washington, a gentleman who, in 
company with the undertakers, has had charge of the body. In 
the rear of this group were the near relatives, who were soon to 
appear. The artillerymen walked slowly up the inclined plane, 
and stood at the head of the catafalque. The clergymen fol- 
lowed them. The coffin was lifted and placed on the shoulders 
(A the artillerymen, who bore it very slowly to the funeral car, 
and placed it upon the support prepared for it there. While 
they were passing the Marine Band played " In the Sweet By- 
and-By." Following the body and the undertakers came Dan- 
iel Spriggs, the late President's faithful colored servant. The 
carriages for the mourners were brought to the foot of the in- 
clined plane. Col. Rockwell and Harry Garfield, supporting 
Mrs. Garfield, and accompanied by one of the younger boys, 
then came from the pavilion. Then came the President's aged 
mother, slowly walking with her grandson James and Col. Cor- 
bin. The President's daughter, Mollie, weeping, came with her 
mother's father. There were many others, including Dr. Boyn- 
ton, who has been deeply affected by the sufferings and death 
of the President ; Mrs. Rockwell, who had found it very diffi- 
cult to endure this last scene. As the relatives left the pavilion 
the familiar faces of ex-President and Mrs. Hayes were seen 
there; with them was their daughter Lucy. By the side of 
the ex-President stood his former Secretary of State. Leaning 
against one of the gilded pillars of the catafalque was Secretary 



334 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Blaine. In tLe foreground, Gen. Swaim, Col. Rockwell, and 
Secretary Brown remained — a group of the nearest friends of 
the dead. Then the members of the Cabinet, with their wives, 
came down to their carriages. First came Mr. and Mrs. 
Blaine, then Mr. and Mrs. Windom, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt, Mr. 
and Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. and Mrs. James, Mr. and Mrs. MacVeagh, 
and Mr. Kirkwood. The trio of devoted friends and the ex- 
President were the last who left the spot where the President's 
body had lain. 

The grand procession passed out Superior Street and Euclid 
Avenue to the entrance of the cemetery. The sidewalks of the 
beautiful avenue were crowded with people, many of whom had 
come to the city from places many miles away. The citizens dis- 
tributed 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 gallons of ice water to 
the civil and military visitors. The crowds along the avenue were 
so large that in some places they occupied the private lawns. 
Barrels of water were placed at short intervals along the way for 
the use of all. The entire line was patrolled by soldiers of the 
Ohio National Guard. When the head of the column reached 
the black arch which had been erected over the entrance of the 
cemetery, the ranks were opened and the body of the dead 
President, borne upon the funeral car, passed in between the 
long ranks of soldiers and civilians. The head of the column 
reached the gate a few minutes before 2 o'clock. Upon the 
piers of the arch were these inscriptions : 

*' Lay him to sleep whom we have learned to trust." 
**Lay him to sleep whom we have learned to love." 
"Come to rest." 

AT THE GATES OP THE VAULT. 

From the gate to the public vault in which the body was to 
be temporarily deposited the way was guarded by soldiers. 
Very few persons had been allowed to come into the cemetery, 
and those who had come, together with part of the Fourteenth 
Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, of Columbus, Col. 
George D. Freeman, and the Curry Cadets, of Marysville, Capt. 
W. M. Leggett, were gathered at or near the vault. In front 
of the vault, a narrow roadway passes between two divisions of 
the lake. To the right rises the beautiful knoll on which the 
President's body was placed, and where the grand monument for 
which dollar subscriptions are now being taken will be erected. 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 335 

In front of the entrance of the vault was a black pall about 40 
feet long and 20 feet wide. The ground under the pall had 
been covered with evergreen sprigs until it seemed to wear a 
green carpet. Upon the evergreens the lady school-teachers of 
Cleveland had scattered roses, geraniums, and immortelles in 
rich profusion. The flowers were more plentiful just at the en- 
trance of the vault. The vault's iron gates were standing open, 
and the bars were almost hidden by smilax. The dark interior 
had been beautified by rare flowers and vines. There could be 
seen a great lyre of flowers, sent by the Brazilian Legation at 
Washington ; a cross and crown, given by the Bolivian Legation ; 
and a beautiful wreath, the gift ot the ladies of Dubuque, Iowa. 
The people around the vault awaited in silence the arrival of the 
procession. Just opposite the vault was the ever-present camera 
of the photographer. An artist was sketchiiig the vault for an 
illustrated paper. The minute-guns were distinctly heard. 

At 2.15 o'clock the dark clouds which had been gathering in 
a threatening manner for some time let fall a shower which 
drove the people to the shelter of the evergreens. The wind 
arose and shook the great black pall, and twisted the young 
trees on the edge of the lake. A piece of tarpaulin was hastily 
thrown over the trestles which the undertakers had brought to 
aid them in taking the body from the car. Men crawled under 
this improvised tent. The water gathered in the folds of the 
pall and threatened to break it down. A soldier walked under 
it and thrust his bayonet through the cloth. An officer climbed 
a little ladder and cut holes in the pall with his sword. The 
water then poured down upon the beautiful carpet of evergreens 
and flowers. Ten minutes later the rain almost ceased to fall, 
but in a short time the drops came down again. From that 
time onward the rain continued, although the clouds frequently 
seemed to be breaking away. The spectators who had no um- 
brellas crouched under the branches of the trees. 

At 3 o'clock the members of the German singing societies 
marched along the roadway and took places by the side of the 
vault. Ten minutes later Gov. Foster and his staff appeared in 
front of the vault in a drizzling rain. At 3.30 the Marine Band, 
of Washington, marched by playing the Garfield funeral march, 
and took a station beyond the vault on the left. Three minutes 
later came three horsemen — Chief Marshal Barnett, and Gen. 
Meyer and Major Goodspeed, of his staff. They were at once 



336 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

followed by the First City Troop of Cleveland, a fine body of 
men, excellently mounted, and clad in uniforms of black and 
yellow. Marching behind them were the commanderies of 
Knights Templar, the members of which formed a single rank 
facing the vault, while the troopers continued the line to the 
left. 

No sound was heard as the funeral car drew near. Its wheels 
passed noiselessly over the earth. The grooms were finding it 
difiicult to restrain the twelve black horses. The artillerymen still 
marched by the side of the car. Colored men held the canopy 
by cords running down from the corners of the cornice. The 
immortelles around the pillars had been soaked through and 
through with rain, and the old colors, furled and draped, were 
dripping. The palms of victory had slipped from the top of the 
coffin to the floor of the car, but the wreath sent by Queen Vic- 
toria was yet in its place. A great piece of tarpaulin was at 
once laid upon the carpet of evergreens and flowers, and an in- 
clined plane was placed at the rear of the car. While the artil- 
lerymen were getting ready to lift the body from the car, the 
white horses of Mrs. Garfield's carriage walked up to a spot just 
in front of the door of the vault. The window of the carriage was 
lowered. Upon the back seat were President Garfield's wife 
and mother. The venerable lady's sad face appeared for a mo- 
ment and was then withdrawn. Then the President's widow 
drew back her veil and looked out upon the beautiful carpet of 
flowers. Upon the box, beside the driver, sat Daniel Spriggs, 
the faithful colored servant of the dead man. Dr. Robison 
walked to the door of the carriage and spoke to those who were 
within. Then Harry Garfield and James Garfield opened the 
door and stepped out. Daniel stepped down from the driver's 
seat and stood by the rear wheel of the carriage, his hat in his 
hand, and his head bowed in grief. The clergymen and some 
others came under the pall before the door of the vault and 
awaited the removal of the body. The artillerymen marched 
the length of the tarpaulin, countermarched, walked up the in- 
clined plane, and stood on the car beside the coffin. It was lifted, 
carried out of the car, and then placed on their shoulders. 
Slowly they bore it down and then over the evergreen carpet 
and under the pall to the door of the vault. The mother and 
the widow of the late President watched this mournful journey 
from their carriage. The artillerymen bore the body into the 



PRESIDEN'T GARFIELD. S87 

vault and placed it on the supports prepared for it there. It had 
reached the house of silence. As it passed between the iron 
gates the President's mother looked fixedly at it and then drew 
down her veil. The President's widow covered her face with 
her hands and wept. The Marine Band, stationed near at hand, 
played " Nearer, My God, to Thee." As the beautiful strains 
were heard the venerable lady whose son had been placed in 
the vault looked out and her face was radiant. Gen. Swaim 
and Col. Rockwell went down to the carriage and spoke to her. 

THE REV. MR. JONEs's ADDRESS. 

Dr. Robison then announced that some remarks would be 
made by the Rev. J. H. Jones, who went out to the war with 
Gen. Garfield. The former Chaplain of the Forty-Second Ohio 
Volunteers stood under the pall and spoke as follows: 

" Our illustrious friend has completed his journey — a journey 
we must all make, and that in the near future. Yet when I see 
the grand surroundings of this occasion I am led to inquire, 
Was this man the son of the emperor, of the king that wore 
the crown ? For in the history of this great country there has 
been nothing like this seen by the people, and, perhaps, in no 
other country. Yet I thought, perhaps, speaking after the man- 
ner of men, that he was a prince, and this was offered in a man- 
ner after royalty. He was not, my friends. It is not an offer- 
ing of a king. It is not as we are taught, an offering to earthly 
kings and emperors, though he was born a prince and a free- 
man, the great Commoner of the United States. Only a few 
miles from where we stand less than 50 years ago he was born, 
in the primeval forests of this State and this County, and all he 
asks of you now is a peaceful grave in the bosom of the land 
that gave him birth. I cannot speak to you of his wonderful 
life and works. Time forbids and history will take care of 
that, and your children's children will read of this with emotion 
when we have passed away from this earth. But let me say 
that when I was permitted, with these honorable men, to go to 
Pittsburg, as one of a committee to receive his mortal remains, 
I saw from that city to Cleveland hundreds and thousands of 
people, many of them in tears. Then I asked myself the mean- 
ing of all this, for I saw the working men come out of the roll- 
ing mills, with dust and smoke all over their faces, their heads 
uncovered and tears rolling down their brawny cheeks, and with 
15 



338 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

bated breath. I asked, What is the meaning of all this ? because 
it casts down a working man ? He was a working man himself, 
for he has been a worker from his birth almost. He has fought 
his way through life at every step, and the working man he took 
by the hand. There were sympathy and brotherhood between 
them. In the small cottages, as well as in the splendid mansions, 
there are drapings on the shutters, and it may have been the 
only veil a poor woman had, as with tears in her eyes she saw 
us pass. I asked why ; what interest has this poor woman in 
this man ? She had read that he was born in a cabin, and that 
when he got old enough to work in the beech woods he helped 
to support his widowed mother. Then I saw the processions 
and the colleges pouring out ; the local professions and the civic 
societies and the military all concentrated here. And he has 
touched them all in his passage thus far through life, and you 
feel that he is a brother. He is, therefore, a brother to you in 
all these regards. But when a man dies his work usually fol- 
lows him. 

" When we sent Gen. Garfield to the Capitol at Washington 
he weighed 210 pounds. He had a soul that loved his race; 
a splendid intellect that almost bent the largest form to bear it. 
You bring him back to us a mere handful of some 80 pounds, 
mostly of bones, in that casket. Now I ask, Why is this ? I do 
not stop to talk about the man that did the deed. ' Vengeance 
is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.' He sees the terrors of a 
scaffold before him probably, and the eternal disgrace which 
falls to the murderer and assassin, and he is going down to the 
judgment of God amid the frowns of the world. But where is 
James A. Garfield whom we lent to you seven months ago? 
Many of you were there at the time of his inauguration and wit- 
nessed the grand pageant which passed in front of the Capitol, 
and the grandest that was ever had in the nation was held on 
that occasion. And now comes this unwelcome but splendid 
exhibition, that will be read of all over the world with regret. 
For Secretary Blaine, in a business-like manner, made out that 
there were 300,000,000 people of the world mourning the death of 
President Garfield, and offering up sympathy. Where is he? 
Here is all that is left of him — the grand, bright and brilliant 
man. Now that soul that loved, that mind that thought, and 
has impressed itself upon the world, must come back, for if 
thoughts live will that precious thought cease ? In reason he 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 339 

speaks and in example lives. His thouglits and mighty deeds 
still flourish in structure. We shall get him back, fellow-citi- 
zens. In conversation with one nearest and dearest to him, she 
said when she thought of his relations as a husband, a son, and 
a statesman, having reached the highest pinnacle to which man 
can be elevated by the free suffrage of our 50,000,000 of people, 
there was no promotion left for her beloved but for God to call 
him higher. He has received that promotion. He believed in 
the immortality, not only of the soul but of the body, and that 
the grave will give up the dead. He must live, and, my friends, 
that was the hope that sustained him. It was with him in the 
war, and the enemy never saw his back ; they never looked 
upon his back ; he was fortunate in every contest in being on 
the victorious side. But the grandest fight he ever made he 
made in the last 80 days of his existence, fought, not because he 
himself personally expected to live, but the doctors told him to 
hope. He loved his wife and children, and he hoped. * I am 
not afraid to die, but I will try,' said he, ' to live.' And then 
he was not conquered except by simple exhaustion. It seems 
to me that no good man by the name of Abraham can be a 
President of the United States and can be long absent from 
Abraham's bosom, for both of them have been called, and early, 
to the Paradise of God, and their spirits look down upon us to- 
day. He is in the society of Washington and Lincoln and the 
immortal hosts of patriots that stood for their country. 

" Let me say in conclusion : There was a man in ancient 
Bible history that killed more in his death than he did in his 
life, and I believe that to be true with James A. Garfield. I 
doubt whether there is a page that equals this in sympathy and 
love, and not only in this country, but all over the world. Have 
you ever read anything like this? You brethren here of the 
South I greet you to-day ; and you brethren of the North, East, 
and West, come ; let us lay all our bitterness in the cofiSn of 
the dear man. Let him carry it with him to the grave in silence. 
Till the angels disturb the slumbers of the dead, let us love each 
other more and our country better. May God bless you and 
the dear family, and as they constitute a great family on earth, 
I hope they will constitute a great family in the kingdom of 
God, where I hope to meet you all in the end. Amen." 



340 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



THE HOUSE OF SILENCE. 

At his left, near a group of correspondents, stood Secretary 
Blaine. Upon the other side of the speaker were ex-President 
Hayes and ex-Secretary Evarts. Near them stood the faithful Dr. 
Boynton and the three friends — Swaim, Rockwell, and Brown. 
As soon as the chaplain had ceased to speak the German soci- 
eties sang Horace's famous ode, " Integer Vitse." Daniel 
Spriggs remained by the carriage with folded hands and down- 
cast eyes. His kind master had gone forever from his sight. 

After all who had assisted in the ceremonies had been for- 
mally thanked by Dr. Robison, and the representative of the rela- 
tives, the exercises were brought to an end by a short prayer 
offered by President Hinsdale. Immediately afterward the peo- 
ple walked up to the evergreen carpet and picked up buds and 
sprigs and bits of immortelles to treasure up as mementoes of 
the day and the mournful event. Secretary Blaine, the Rev. 
Mr. Errett, and others went to the carriage in which were the 
President's wife and mother. The artillerymen came forth from 
the vault. Their duty had been performed. The carriages, the 
people, and the troops moved away and returned to the city. 
The noblest son of the nation had been laid at rest. 



A DAY OF MOURNING IN EUROPE. 

SYMBOLS OF GRIEF DISPLAYED AND MEMORIAL SERVICES 
HELD IN MANY PLACES. 

London, Sept. 26. — In London to-day the signs of mourning 
are general and spontaneous, and all agree that there was never 
sJch a general wearing of mourning for a foreigner. Even 
'many of the carters and draymen have their whips decorated 
with crape, and in what are usually the busiest thoroughfares, 
such as the Strand, Fleet Street, and Cheapside, many of the 
shops and all the daily newspaper offices are partially closed. 
Many shops display large portraits of President Garfield in their 
windows. The hotels display flags at half-masfand have their 
blinds lowered. The latter indication of mourning is also visi- 
ble at all the royal palaces, at the Mansion House, at a number 
of private residences throughout the metropolis, and at the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 841 

political and private clubs. A majority of the chiircli bells are 
tolling, and in many of tbem midday services are held. When 
the guard was relieved at St. James's Palace the band, under 
the direction of Godfrey, played a dead march and other music 
of a similar character. There was a great crowd present. In 
the business portion of the West End of London, particularly 
in Regent Street and Oxford Street, there is hardly a shop not 
showing some sign of mourning. 

There was another remarkable demonstration at Dr. Parker's 
City Temple, which was crowded to overflowing, there being 
hundreds outside unable to gain admittance. The pulpit was 
draped with crape and the Stars and Stripes blended, and with 
a magnificent white wreath. The service was begun with the 
anthem, " Sleep thy last sleep," followed by the dead march, 
" So be thou faithful unto death." Prayer was offered by the 
Rev. Newman Hall, the burden of which was " Thy will b- 
done." The solo " I know that my Redeemer liveth" was then 
sung by Miss Beebe. Dr. Parker took as his text — "As in 
Adam all died." He said the funeral is attended by the whole 
civilized world. It is impossible to recall an instance where 
deeper sympathy has been displayed by one nation for another. 
President Garfield's greatness in life was concealed by modesty, 
but is now seen by everyone. He sketched General Garfield's 
career, showing its wonderful vicissitudes. He had handled the 
world bravely. The throne which knew him best was that he 
has left in the hearts of the people. As the next name to that 
of the Queen, that of Queen Lucretia Garfield stands in all 
English hearts. Death won a poor victory compared with hers. 
She behaved with a heroism which would thrill the world. At 
the suggestion of Dr. Parker a message expressing admiration 
and the deepest sympathy was cabled to Mrs. Garfield, all the 
audience simultaneously rising as a sign of assent. The service 
concluded with a solo by Antoinette Sterling, and the hymn 
" Nearer, my God, to Thee." 

The Manchester Guardian appears to-day with a deep mourn- 
ing border. At various towns in England to-day — some even, 
as Portsmouth, having no particular connection with America — 
the municipal authorities have requested the inhabitants to shovv 
their respect for the late President Garfield by closing some of 
their shutters, more particularly during the funeral. In London 
a number of offices connected with America are draped in black. 



342 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

All the omnibus drivers are ordered by the Omnibus Company 
to have crape on their whips. All the flags on the River Thames 
are at half-mast, as are also those on many of the halls of the 
city companies. The officers of the Direct United States Cable 
Company and Anglo-American Telegraph Company on Throg- 
morton Street were conspicuous by their display of the American 
flag hoisted at half-mast and covered with crape. 

At the afternoon service at Westminster Abbey to-day the 
prayers of the congregation were requested for the widow and 
family of President Garfield. Canons Cheadle, Duckworth, and 
Farrar assisted at the service. 

The Rev. Dr. Hermann Adler, in his sermon at the Bays water 
Synagogue, paid a tribute to the memory of President Garfield. 

The Pall Mall Gazette this evening says : " To-day when 
England and America stand as mourners beside one grave we 
may venture to hope that the bitter memories and dividing ani- 
mosities engendered by the Revolutionary war are finally passed 
away," and suggests that England and America shall endeavor to 
arrange some kind of an informal union for the prevention of 
internecine strife. " If a European concert, despite almost 
insurmountable difficulties, is recognized as a political necessity, 
why should there not be an Anglo-x\merican concert wide enough 
to include in one fatherland all English-speaking men," 

A Berlin correspondent says : " Dr. von Schloezer, the Ger- 
man Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the 
United States, takes with him to Washington autograph letters 
of the Emperor William and Prince Bismarck,' expressing their 
heartfelt condolence with the widow of the late President. 

Accounts of mourning manifestations in honor of the late 
President come from Northampton, Oxford, and every part of 
the kingdom, and even from remote towns of Ireland and Scot- 
land. A constant stream of addresses of condolence from nearly 
every provincial borough and from political societies of every 
shade of opinion continues to arrive at the American Legation. 

Memorial services were held in the Church of St. Martin-in- 
the-Field this evening. Long before their commencement the 
approaches to the church were crowded with English and 
American mourners of both sexes. The building was soon 
crowded and not an available inch of room was left. The ser- 
vices opened with the hymn, " God, our help in ages past," 
and later on the hymn " Nearer, my God, to Thee" was sung 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 343 

many weeping at tlie melancholy application of the simple 
words. Mr. Lowell, the American Minister, was present. The 
Archbishop of Canterbury officiated and delivered an address. 
He said: "This is a mournful day, even here, although at so 
great a distance. Had the solemn scene of the funeral obse- 
quies taken place in some neighboring cemetery, I doubt whether 
the effect would have been more deeply felt. A feeling of con- 
sternation, not merely dismay, prevailed throughout this commu- 
nity when the news was flashed across the Atlantic that the 
loved President of a great people had been smitten by a mysterious 
blow. In our alarm we thought there must be existing in the 
world some vile combination working in the dark against the 
progress of civilization. Afterward w^e learned that the deed 
originated in vulgar avarice, or ambition thwarted by the deter- 
mination of an upright chief." The Archbishop then sketched 
Genercil Garfield's life from labor to college, from college to camp, 
and from camp to the Presidency, which, he said, was the life 
of an honest, straightforward, and vigorous lover of his country, 
opening up a picture of manhood such as we are little acquainted 
with in this country. Civilization has lost no common man in 
Gen. Garfield. Thank God, England and America are not dis- 
united, but may be brought to better understand and love each 
other by our union in the common sorrow. 

Liverpool, Sept. 26. — The Mayor of Liverpool and the prin- 
cipal officers of the city attended in state the special funeral ser- 
vices in memory of the late President at the pro-cathedral, 
which was filled with leading citizens. Business w^as generally 
suspended and the bells tolled. 

Leamington, Sept. 26. — At a special meeting, the Town 
Council has passed a vote of sympathy with the widow of 
President Garfield. 

Portsmouth, Sept. 26. — Muffled peals were rung from the 
parish church. All the foreign consulates have lowered flags, 
and similar honors were paid by the port and the garrison. The 
blinds of most of the private residences are drawn. 

Windsor, Sept. 26. — The American flag is hoisted at half- 
mast on the Town Hall. Many of the shops are partially closed. 
The bells at the Castle and the parish church tolled for an hour. 

Glasgow, Sept. 26. — The flags are at half-mast and the bells 
were tolled for an hour. The principal markets have closed for 
the afternoon. 



344 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Manchester, Sept. 26. — Business is to a great extent sus- 
pended. There was a funeral service in the cathedral. 

Cairo, Egypt, Sept. 26. — Public funeral services were held 
at the American mission chapel here at 9 o'clock this morning. 
All the JSiinisters and Consuls and a number of Europeans were 
present. 

Bradford, Sept. 26. — A most impressive meeting of our 
townsmen was held at the Exchange here, the Mayor presiding. 
A resolution of condolence and sympathy for the death of the 
President was passed, the immense crowd standing meanwhile 
motionless and uncovered. 

Paris, Sept. 26. — President Grevy and the diplomatic body 
were represented at the service in memory of President Gar- 
field at the chapel in the Rue de Berri. 

A service was held to-day at the Protestant chapel in the 
Rue St. Honore. The church was draped in black. Mr. Mor- 
ton, the United States Minister, received the diplomatic body. 
The whole American colony was present, together with M. Say, 
President of the Senate; M. Barthelemy St. Ililaire, Minister 
of Foreign Affairs; Gen. Farre, Minister of War; M. Tirard, 
Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, and M. Cochery, Minis- 
ter of Posts and Telegraphs. Gen. Pittie, represented President 
Grevy, and Admiral Peyron represented the Minister of Marine. 
M. Yernes, President of the Paris Consistory ; the Rev. M. Recol- 
lin, and Bishop Dudley delivered eloquent addresses recalling Gen. 
Garfield's intelligence and honesty and the deep sorrow which 
has fallen on the widow and mother. The speakers laid strong 
emphasis on the ties uniting the two republics, and referred to 
the departure at the present moment of the French delegation 
for Yorktown. M. RecoUin conjured Americans to terminate 
all party divisions, so that there should be no longer a North 
and a South, but one people. 

Madrid, Sept. 26. — The American Society has adopted a 
resolution expressing profound regret at the death of President 
Garfield. 



PRESIDENT GAMFIELJ). 345 



PULPIT WEEATHS. 



SERMONS BY PROMINENT CLERGYMEN ON THE 
DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT. 

JL SIGN TO THE PEOPLE THE BITTER MEDICINE OF GRIEF FOR 

THE HEALING OF THE NATIOn's SICKNESS DR. DIX ON THE 

ABSORBING TOPIC OF THE DAY. 

The Rev. Morgan Dix, of Trinity Church, New York, 
preached from the text Ezekiel xxiv. 19 — "And the people 
said unto me. Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to 
us?" It was the office of the prophets of the old time, said 
the preacher, to declare to the people the meaning of the dis- 
pensations of Almighty God. Under inspiration they had 
the key to the mysteries by which man is compassed about, and 
knew how to explain what otherwise might have gone unnoticed 
or unsolved. And special signs were given — things that sur- 
prised and startled and fixed the attention, things which evi- 
dently meant something — and the observers were wont to gather 
about the prophet or seer and listen to his statement of the 
purpose of God veiled under the sign. The entire cast of the 
public thought was religious. Men looked for symbols and 
wonders and strange acts ; they knew that all is of God and can 
be traced up to God ; they knew not, in each instance, how ; 
they wished to know, and asked to be told, and thus in the 
strange events and noted experiences of the year they learned 
God's will, God's purposes, his mercies and his judgments. It 
was a rare, a blessed life, to feel God near them, to hear his 
voice, to read the very meaning of his acts ; it lifted those who 
had that privilege high above the rest, and made them a pecu- 
liar people among all nations of the earth. And what of us and 
of the world in our own day ? Are we, then, so far off from 
God that no message comes to us direct from him ? that no 
15* 



346 THE ASSASSINATION Of 

signs are given ? that we have no interpreter ? Not at all, surely 
not. Through the Gospel and the Son of God we are brought 
nearer unto him, nearer than ever. As the apostle saith, " The 
law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope 
(lid, whereby we draw nigh to God." Be it far from the 
thought of any Christian man to admit that God's voice is not as 
distinct, that God's meaning is not as plain, now as in the days 
long past. He made the world, he governs it. To use the 
comfortable words of our collect, " His never failing providence 
ordered all things in heaven and earth." Whatever cometh has 
a meaning. The events of the hour and the day are not the 
result of chance ; they are like voices to man from another 
realm ; we must be able, we are able, to discover what they are 
to us. The prophetic office has not failed ; it still exists and is 
executed among us. That office consisted mainly in teaching 
man the will of God ; the forecasting of the future, the 
announcement of things to come, was a secondary and extra- 
ordinary function ; the steady daily work of the prophet was to 
teach in God's name. And that prophetic office continues in 
full force ; it is the great office of the Church of Christ ; it is 
the duty laid on the ministry of that Church to interpret, to 
explain, to clear up the dubious, to make the crooked plain, to 
bring dark things to light, to draw forth the deep moral from 
transitory phenomena, and so to enforce it on intellect and con- 
science that when the signs are passed away the things signified 
may abide with us, making us better men. And this is the 
difference between the censure and criticism of the mere human 
observer and the solemn judgments of the Church. On the one 
hand it is the surface only which is swept by the keen eye ; on 
the other hand it is the depth that is sounded to that point at 
\vhich the upper agitation ceases. The popular record con- 
tains what is seen, what catches the eye, what gives material to 
the artist for his pictures, what absorbs and moves the imagina- 
tion and the sympathies which exist alike in all. But the 
Church in her prophetic office tells us more — what things are to 
li:*, what lessons they bring of righteousness, temperance and 
judgment to come ; and so she makes men thoughtful, and 
sends them, full of it, to their knees in silent adoration of the 
Everlasting God, and sets them thinking what they can do to 
keep the salutary impressions from passing away and leaving 
them, as before, indifferent, careless, irreligious. 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD, 347 



A SIGN FROM GOD. 

Dear brethren, a sign is now before us, great, mighty, por- 
tentous. It has been before our eyes week after week, growing 
ever more alarming, filling the land with astonishment, hearts 
with dread, eyes with weeping for the things that have come on 
the land. This is, if ever such was since the world began, a sign 
from God — a sign to the nation, a sign to other nations, a sign 
to every one by himself, and to each house and family apart. 
And, as by an irresistible instinct, men have hastened to render 
that sign still more fearfully impressive by the lavish parapher- 
nalia of death and his dark abode. The city has been turned 
into one vast house of mourning. One cannot walk about, one 
cannot look forth from his window, one cannot move a step 
without beholding what reminds him of the sombre terrors of 
the grave. I know nothing more striking, nothing more edify- 
ing, than this common movement of all sorts and conditions of 
men — of the evil and the good, of the godly and the ungodly, 
of the careless and profane as well as the devout believer, of 
persons of all estates and conditions, of all professions, of all 
minds and wills, unnumbered, yet unanimous — hastening to put 
into some visible expression the confession, the admission that 
the glory of man is as the flower of grass ; that human life is 
but a vapor which appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth 
away. Have ye weighed this sufliciently ? Have ye thought 
how astounding, how overwhelming is the sound of this univer- 
sal voice, crying as one, " Dust we are and unto dust shall we 
return" ? If the voice of the people be indeed the voice of God, 
then it is not so much the people whom we hear to-day as God 
Almighty speaking to us through them — repeating the old les- 
sons so soon forgotten, condemning human pride, pouring con- 
tempt on human glory, asserting the omnipotence of death, and 
reminding each living soul that the time is short, that there is 
neither wisdom, nor device, nor knowledge, nor power in the 
deep furrow of the tomb. This sign is now before us ; dis- 
played more distinctly than those in the heavens, wherein we 
have been looking, recently, upon the pale trains of comets 
wheeling their mysterious course through space ; this sign is 
standing in full sight from every quarter of the land. The 
question may be asked. What is it to us? "Wilt thou not tell 
us what these things are to us ?" So said the people to their 



348 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

prophet of old. And may ye reverently ask of those who speak 
to you in the name of God, the ministers of that great Christian 
body which has and keeps the truth. And if ye ask it, let them 
answer, as they should, not by delivering their own opinions, not 
by setting forth their views as men, and so, like other men, 
entitled to form judgments on passing events, which judgments 
may be right or wrong, but by declaring things out of the living 
oracles — old truths, first principles, weighty matters of law. It 
is to this task that I would address myself, remembering whose 
minister I am — to the question about the inmost meaning of 
the sign, its purport as verily and indeed showed to us by God 
through the strange and striking act of man. This is the prov- 
ince of the Church — her sole province. The journals of the 
day have given the public all the information that could be 
gathered by the utmost industry and ingenuity. They have 
told the story from the beginning to the moment we have 
reached; they hsve set before us, so plainly that nothing could 
be plainer, the horrid crime, the long suffering, the household 
and domestic details, the professional treatment, they have 
written the biography of the dead, and fully told his life ; they 
have followed the unrolling of the awful drama, and have 
related every minutest incident of its process. The sign, in its 
outward aspect, could not have been more perfectly portrayed, 
more scientifically recorded in the register of the history of this 
eventful year. All this is as it should be, but with these things 
the Church has naught to do. Hers it is not to repeat nor to 
amplify, nor to tell over again what has been well told, but to 
go down far below to reach something deeper, to read the 
meaning of these things in that innermost place where God and 
man meet at length, and where we must be still, and bow the 
head, and listen while he speaks. After the wind, and the 
earthquake, and the fire, comes the still, small voice. It is the 
utterance of the Spirit addressing the soul of man. And if he, 
whom the nation mourns to-day, could speak to his people and 
his countrymen, he would no doubt bid us rather think what 
these things are to us, than go on dwelling exclusively on the 
violence and misery inflicted on his now lifeless body and on 
the bereavement of the nation from whom their head has thus 
atrociously been taken away. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 349 



miERPRETATION OF THE SIGN. 

The sign tells us of the utter vanity of human things. 
Shadows are we, and vapor ; and, if this life be all, then no 
more. It is awful to think of one being lifted up head over 
40,000,000 or 50,000,000 of men honored, exalted, trusted in, 
hailed with loud and general cries of joy, and then instantly 
struck into darkness and dust. It is awful to think that a man 
should by patience, industry, talents, virtues, by the very labor 
of the hands and sweat of the brow, work up to such a place 
modestly and honestly and religiously withal, only to be levelled 
at one blow at the instant in which he stood at the summit of 
honor and power. It is awful to think of a man watched all 
those years by eyes of love, prayed for, upborne by devoted 
affection, followed to his triumph by simple, tender hearts, 
and turning to them with entire attachment to show that his 
happiness was mainly in seeing them happy, and then cast head- 
long in the very midst of that affrighted little flock bleeding, 
agonized, dying. "Vanity of vanities!" It is, in all history, 
among the most pathetic pictures we ever saw or ever shall see. 
Who, after this, dare glory in wisdom, might, strength ; in 
love, in honor, in the sweetness of these transient hours ? Who 
that remembers that sign can helping saying with dread, "1 
myself also am but a man !" The utter hollowness and emp- 
tiness, the almost derisory vanity, of our mortal condition. 
Think first of that. The sign tells us of the brutality, the mad- 
ness, of human nature. Ah ! yes ; glorify it as they will, this 
human nature, of which so much is expected, to which so much 
is ascribed, what is it at length but brutal, hateful, horrible^ 
If the murdered man be a sign of the vanity of our estate his 
assassin is a sign of the depravity of our condition. Man has 
in him still the cunning, the ferocity, the cold, pitiless temper 
of the worst order of the brutes. And this attests the need of 
a redemption for him ; a cleansing, a conversion to God. It 
shows that such a work of moral repair is beyond all human 
power ; it demands a God to transform the devil into the angel. 
It ought to make us shudder when we think of our own sin, 
which is in its essence and quality the same as that of the 
trembling wretch who now lies awaiting his doom. It ought to 
make us laugh to scorn and drive away the fools who deny the 
sinfulness of sin, and talk against the penitential and disciplinary 



360 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

doctrine and system of our Christian religion. The sign, more- 
over, is an instance of that horrible crime, the defiling of a land 
with blood. It has always been so considered. Human blood, 
shed lawlessly and when it ought not to be shed, defileth the land 
in which it is spilled. It calls for expiation ; it bids men rise 
up, and, as well as they can, cleanse it away. And since 
Almighty God is Lord over all the people, when he suffers such 
defilement to occur it is a sign of judgment. Wicked things 
are done among us; pride, luxury, extravagance increase, with 
blasphemy of God's holy name, desecration of his day, neglect 
of his worship, reversing of his laws, abandonment of Christian 
principle, falsifying of standards of right and wrong; selfish- 
ness, drunkenness, infidelity, fornication, systematic child mur- 
der before birth, dissolute manners, divorces. " Shall I not 
visit for these things, saith the Lord?" He does visit; and we 
see the innocent blood shed and the land defiled thereby. This 
bids to deep repentance, amendment of morals, return to God ; 
to putting away the sin by righteousness and washing out the 
stain by pleading the precious blood of Christ in expiation of 
the deep, dark sins with which society is poisoned, and by 
which, if unchecked, it shall in time be broken up. 

god's sovereignty declared. 

The sign declares to us the sovereignty of God by subjecting 
us to his righteous judgments. There is no escape from the 
teaching of religion or moral government of the deed unless 
in the notion that things here come by an iron fate or by mere 
cliance, or else that we will have no opinion about them, but let 
things go as they list and give ourselves no thought to them. 
But this is an hour in which the people are in no mood for such 
trifling. They do not believe that the death of the President 
was the result of chance, nor yet that it came of a rigid, inflex- 
ible fatalistic order, without will or purpose or moral method; 
nor are they saying, *' Oh, never mind how things in this world 
are so long as we remain secure." There are great searchings of 
heart ; there is a great, purposeful, solemn thought awake every- 
where. What meets it save the old truth of the moral govern- 
ment of God ? He it is who orders or permits whatever occurs 
on earth, in heaven, in hell, above, below, around us. And we 
are powerless without him. We shall not be able to avert the 
like or worse calamities unless he help, and his help must 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. g51 

be sought through the searching of his judgments and strict 
conformity to his will. It may be that there are those who do 
not feel in all this that God is chastening, afflicting, punishing, 
visiting. That is the acme and practical outcome of atheism. 
If that were the general feeling, or even a widespread feeling, 
well might one despair and ask to be taken away ; for nothing 
can be conceived so hopeless as the state of that man or that 
people who could deny that God visits for sin at the very instant 
in which his blows are descending on the guilty and his judg- 
ments are in the land. 

Yet once more — the sign is a sign full of light, sweetness and 
glory. It shows how God can turn evil to good, the gloom 
of death into the brightness of day. Is not this altogether 
wonderful ? Perhaps no more atrocious act was ever perpetrated 
than that of this assassination. And yet we see what it has led to. 
How it has drawn us together, softened our hearts, revived our 
faith in goodness and virtue. What an ideal of patience, 
resignation to God's will, faith in him, fortitude, have we now 
set up among us ! Who is not the better for it all ? What 
unforeseen results have flowed from that? Are we not all, for 
a time, like brethren beloved, children of one house, united 
heart to heart and hand to hand. If there be nothing more hor- 
rible than the dire act itself, surely there is nothing sweeter than 
the wide sympathy, the unification of such multitudes of people, 
not here only, but through the civilized world, drawn to each 
other by pity, by tenderness, by reverence for simple, virtuous, 
homely ways, and by a deep religion which undoubtedly lies at 
the inmost depths, even in hearts where we hardly suspected its 
existence. 

STRENGTH OF THE ETERNAL PROMISES. 

The sign tells us much besides, too much to declare at once. 
But last of all, it assures us of the strength of the eternal prom- 
ises. Not here are the crown, the reward, the peace. They 
shall be beyond these fading scenes. This life cannot be all ; 
set in the midst of so many and great dangers, so full of care 
and sorrow, and in an instant cut off. Surely this is not all ; 
surely there must be more to come ; and here the promise of 
the Gospel meets us, bidding us set our hopes on things above, 
and showing to faith and love the inheritance incorruptible and 
undefiled and that fadeth not away. 



352 THE ASSASSINATION OP 

I come back to the question of the text — " What are these 
things to us?" O brethren, let us rather ask, What are they not 
to us ? Certainly the Lord is among this people, though some 
know it not ; it is his own voice that we hear. These things, 
not regarded in the religious light, were but a nine-days' 
wonder, impressing us for a time, then forgotten ; and, apart 
from the clear shining of the lamp of God upon them, they 
were but like fitful gleamings which early die away into dark- 
ness and night. But it shall not be so. This time of mingled 
light and shadow, this day not dark nor light, neither day nor 
night, shall be forever remembered, and for many, many years 
influential in our borders. It was the time of God's visitations, 
when it pleased him, by bitter medicine of grief, to heal our 
sickness, to restore a moral tone to the people, to revive old 
faiths, to set old truths full in view, to give us a view of the 
next world, to humble the pride of man, to bring him low at 
the steps of the great throne, to lead him to give glory and 
honor to the Kino; of Kinofs and Lord of Lords. I have told 
you something of what all this is to you. And let me add 
affectionately a bidding to prayer. To-morrow is the day when 
the dust shall return to dust again. Keep it thoughtfully, 
calmly. Profane it not by the pursuits of ordinary life. 
Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and let this 
be the double burden of our petitions, that Almighty God will 
sanctify the common affliction to the whole nation, and that, by 
his holy inspiration, he will bring it home, for repentance, 
amendment of life, and stirring up of faith and zeal to every 
man in the lesser round of his own uncertain and dangerous 
life. 



GARFIELD'S VICTORY IN DEATH. 

HIS BENEFICENT POLICY STRONGER NOW THAN THOUGH H3 HAD 
SERVED HIS FULL TERM. 

Thousands were unable to get into the Brooklyn Tabernacle. 
The auditorium was hung with black. Dr. Talmage took his 
text from Judges xvi. 30 — " So the dead which he slew at his 
death were more than they which he slew in his life." It some- 
times occurs, said Dr. Talmage, that after an industrious and 
useful and eminent life, in the closing hour a man will achieve 



PRESIDENT OABFIELD. 858 

more good than in all the years that preceded. My text has a 
very graphic illustration in the overshadowing event of this 
hour. President Garfield during his active life was the enemy 
of sin, the enemy of sectionalism, the enemy of everything 
small-hearted and depraved and impure, and he gave many a 
crushing blow against these moral and political Philistines ; but 
in his dying hours he made the grandest achievement. The 
eleven weeks of his dying were mightier than the half century 
of his living. My object this morning is for inspiration and 
comfort to show that our President's expiration has done more 
good than a prolonged administration possibly could have 
accomplished. Had he died one month before he was shot 
down by the assassin he would not have had his administration 
fairly launched. Had he died six months from now by that 
time his advanced policy of reform would have destroyed the 
friendship of many of his followers. Had he died many years 
from now he would have been out of office and in the decline 
of life. There was no time in the last fifty years when his 
deathbed could have been so effective, and there could have 
been no time in the fifty years to come when his deathbed could 
have been so overwhelmingly impressive. We talk a great deal 
about the faith of the Christian and the courage of the Cliiis- 
tian and the hope of the Christian, but all the sermons preached 
in the past twenty years on that subject put together would not 
be so impressive as the magnificent demeanor of our dying 
Chief Magistrate. 

NORTH AND SOUTH UNITED. 

President Garfield's death more than a prolonged administra- 
tion has consummated good feeling between the North and the 
South. It ir not shaking hands over a bloody chasm according 
to the rhetoric of campaign documents, but it is shaking hands 
across and over a palpitating heart large enough to take in both 
sections. He in his dying moment took the hand of the North 
and the hand of the South and joined them, and with a pathos 
that can never be forgotten practically said, " Be brothers." 
Ah, my friends, he has done in his death what he could not 
have done in all his life. Where are the flags at half-mast to- 
day ? At New Orleans and Boston, at Chicago and Charleston. 
The bulletins of his health were as anxiously watched on the 
south side of Mason and Dixon's line as on the north side. 



354 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Ever and anon we thought we had our old difficulties settled 
and our old grudges adjusted, but the quarrel broke out in some 
new place. It seems now that the requiem of to-day must for- 
ever drown out all sectional prejudices. After what we have 
seen during the last eleven weeks the people of the South must 
l>e welcomed in all our Northern homes as we of the North 
would be welcome in all the Southern homes. If at any future 
time some one should want to kindle anew the fires of hatred 
lie would find but little fuel and no sulphurous match. South 
Carolina and Massachusetts, stand up and be married. Ala- 
bama and New York, stand up and join hands in betrothal. 
Georgia and Ohio, stand up while I pronounce you one. "And 
whom God hath joined together let not man put asunder." No 
living man could have accomplished this. 

Dr. Talmage went on to say that President Garfield's death 
accomplished more than his life in setting forth the truth that 
when our time comes to go the most energetic and skilful oppo- 
sition cannot hinder the event, and then demanded, " Who 
knows but that God may make this national trouble the purifi- 
cation of all the people ?" 

MRS. Garfield's last hour in the white house. 

Poor Mrs. Garfield ! I never read anything more pathetic in 
my life than what I saw in the newspapers on Friday, when 
they said she had gone to the White House to gather up the 
private property of the faniily to have it taken to her home in 
Ohio. Can you imagine any greater torture than for her to go 
through those rooms in the White House associated with her 
husband's kindness and her husband's anxieties and her hus- 
band's sufferings? You see she had with her womanly arms 
fought on his side all the way up the steep of life. She had 
helped him in severe economies when they were very poor, and 
with her own needle she had clothed her household and with 
her own hands she had made them bread. In the dark days 
when slanderous assault frowned upon him she never forsook 
him. They had fought the battle of life and gained the day, 
and they were seated side by side at the tip-top to enjoy the 
victory. Then the blow came. What a reversal of fortune ! 
From what midnoon to what midnight ! Some say it will kill 
her. I do not believe it. The same God who has helped her 
on until now will help her through. The mighty God who pro- 



PBE8IDENT GARFIELD. 355 

tected James A. Garfield at Chickamauga and in the fiery hell 
of many battles will, when these members of the broken family 
circle come together next week in their little home at Mentor, 
protect and comfort the wife, the children and the aged mother. 
I invoke the grace of high Heaven' on those seven broken 
hearts. 

Ascend, thou disenthralled spirit! Ascend and take thy 
place among those who have come up out of great tribulation 
and had their robes washed and made white in the blood of the 
Lamb ! This Samson of political power, this giant of moral 
strength, had in other days, like the man of the text, slain the 
lion of wrathful opposition and had carried off the gates of 
wrong from their rusty hinges ; but the peroration of his life 
was mightier than all that preceded. " And so the dead which 
he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his 
life." 

While I try to comfort you to-day there is a lesson that 
comes sounding from the tramp of the Senatorial pall-bearers 
and rolling out from the roaring wheels of the draped rail train 
flying westward and coming up from the open grave that awaits 
our dead President. " Put not your trust in princes nor in the 
son of man in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth ; 
in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath 
the God of Jacob for his help." Fare thee well, departed 
chieftain ! Fare thee well ! 

As Dr. Talmage retired from the verge of the platform Pro- 
fessor Morgan played " The Dead March in Saul," and the vast 
assemblage, every man and woman of whom was attired in 
plain black, slowly separated. 



SUBMISSION TO GOD'S WILL. 

LESSONS FROM THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD SERVICES 

IN THE CHURCH WHERE PRESIDENT ARTHUR WORSHIPS. 

The entrance to the Church of the Heavenly Rest, on Fifth 
Avenue, New York, the church where President Arthur attends, 
was handsomely draped. A portiere of black broadcloth was 
looped up against the granite columns of the portico, and above 
it an American flag, covered with crape, reached out into the 



356 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

street. Within the edifice the altar was overhung with a semi- 
transparent black cloth, through which a white cross and the 
word "Jesus" on a violet altar cloth were barely visible. The 
pastor, Rev. Dr. Howland, was assisted by the Rev. Dr. Morgan, 
an English clergyman. Dr. Howland announced that there 
would be a ceremonial service in the church to-day at two 
o clock, that being the hour assigned by the Bishop of the dio- 
cese as the likely time when the remains of the late President 
will be given back to earth. Dr. Howland was suffering from 
the effects of a severe cold, but expressed a hope that he would 
be able to say a few words upon Garfield's life, character and 
death to-day. The hymn "God bless our native land" pre- 
ceded the sermon, which was delivered by Rev. Dr. Morgan. 
His text was " Our Father which art in Heaven : Thy will be 
done." 

In all lands where the Bible was known, the preacher thought 
that the words " Our Father which art in Heaven" were better 
known and oftener spoken than any other contained in the holy 
book. It was the tenderest phrase known to the Christian 
heart. In the midst of the bereavement which afflicted the 
American people so deeply, in the memory of the cruel crime 
which cost them the life of their well-loved President, he as a 
stranger among them could understand how hard it must be for 
many Americans to say to their Heavenly Father, "Thy will be 
done." It did seem like a needless crime, it did seem as if the 
life of the victim might have been spared, but it seemed so to 
minds which cannot understand the Divine purpose, cannot see 
the end of the Divine intention. The speaker desired to make 
it easier, if he could, for his hearers to speak these words of 
submission. He compared the Father in Heaven to the best of 
earthly parents, and said that while the latter often erred in 
their treatment of children it must be remembered that the 
former could not err. God always knew what was best for his 
children. There was perhaps no relationship on earth so strong 
and lasting as the relationship of parent to child. He did not 
refer to those parents, of whom the world had far too many, 
who care not whether their children's footsteps tended towards 
heaven or towards hell ; but he spoke of the conduct of the best 
of earthly parents, the most prayerful, the most devoted. It 
was impossible for earthly parents to know to a certainty the 
talents and dispositions of their children, and hence it was 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 857 

impossible for them always to decide what was best for their 
children, earnestly and unselfishly as they niight desire to do 
so. 

HUMAN FALLIBILITY. 

How often it was that a parent, guided by the best of inten- 
tions, thrust his child into a business for which he was utterly 
unsuited, refusing to allow him to choose an occupation where- 
in he would become the most useful and the most happy. How 
often it was that a parent, looking only to what he believed to 
be the child's best good, led him into a matrimonial alliance 
which could not be a happy one. Such were some of the mis- 
takes of earthly parents despite all their love for their children 
and their desire to secure their happiness. But the heavenly 
Parent knows all about his children — knew every heart-beat and 
every word that passed their lips as well as the words that were 
unspoken. He knew how many talents he had given to each 
and how each disposition turned. He never made mistakes. 
He mixed up the bitter and the sweet of every life so that it 
should yield the greatest glory to him and develop best for its 
ovn eternal good. Could the mother forget her child ? Yes, 
even that might be ; but God was ever mindful of his children. 
God had refused to prolong the life of the beloved President of 
the United States; he had refused it deliberately and because 
it was best to refuse it. Let Christians be sure of that. Let 
them know that God was always right. Let them kneel before 
the body of the dead President was yet consigned to the tomb ; 
let them kneel now and say, " Our Father which art in Heaven, 
the blow is a heavy one ; the providence is dark ; but thou 
knowest best ; we can trust thee when we cannot understand 
thee." 



SPRINGS OF CONSOLATION. 

HARD TO LEAVE THIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD GARFIELd's SOL- 
DIERLY BEARING SERMON BY THE REV. DR. COLLYER. 

" Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill 
shall be made low. And the crooked shall be made straight 
and the rough places plain. And all flesh shall see it together 
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (Isaiah xl. 4 ^nd b) 



358 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

was the text selected yesterday by Dr. CoUyer in the Church of 
the Messiah. Applying it to the death of President Garfield 
he said : We can meet no more as we met last Sunday with 
some little gleam of hope. That which we greatly feared has 
come, and human hope is slain with the human life. And while 
we must all find deeper springs of consolation than this, that 
there is no more sorrow or crying for our dear friend, who 
seems to have died in every home, and to be mourned for as 
their very own by every family, and while we are sure to find 
such consolation in God's good time, I confess it is hard for any 
of us to do this just now, because while we must submit to the 
ine^^table doom which has fallen on the nation we are not re- 
signed to it. Nor was he resigned to it who is dead, and to my 
mind it is of all things natural and right that we should stand in 
this attitude, not towards heaven, God forbid, but toward the 
ev^l powers that have taken his life. When death comes in 
what we have to call the course of nature, and strong men fall 
in the midst of their days, we have to be quiet, usually, and to 
say it was God's will. But the first impulse, and the last, I 
trust, in such a sorrow as this, is to say, with such light as we 
have to guide and help us, it cannot be God's will any more 
than it is ours that we should lose our President in this infernal 
wav, and the stroke did not come from Heaven, but from hell, 
to all human seeming; so why should we give up to it and try 
to be resigned, and say that, in some way we cannot yet under- 
stand, it will be all right, when this that crushes the nation's 
heart and has torn the" life out of the noblest man among us, 
and outraged the most sacred covenant we can make, and 
brought the banner of the nation down to half mast, and set 
fifty millions of men, women and children weeping by one grave, 
and cast a gi'eat, black blot against the whole glory of the 
Republic — how can this bring resignation? I have said hun- 
dreds of times that the sun never shone on a nation so gentle 
and so ready to look for the silver lining in the blackest clouds 
as this of ours, and to forget and forgive. But instead of the 
deep heart out of which all this springs it would reveal a heart 
shallow and worthless beyond measure, and only eager to be 
having its good time again if we were not full of rebellion and 
wrath against this cruel stroke, and bound to search for the 
reasons which lie beyond the evil spirit incarnate in the man 
who struck the blow. 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 559 



LOVING THE WORLD. 



It is a consolation to me that we are not resigned then, and 
do not mean to be, but stand ready to turn on the very pulpits 
in which men would teach us already that God was in it all and 
to say, " How do you know that? Where is your authority?" 
We would fain believe that God will bring good out of this 
great, sad evil, but it is the evil we have to front and fight, and 
to make that seem good to us would it not paralyze the very 
nerve of our frames i The mind of our dead President was 
one with ours. He wanted to the very last to live, and said so, 
and scanned the poor, thin face for some sign that it might be 
so, and was no more resigned to go than we were to have him 
go, and felt as we do that, so far as we can understand the 
divine love which encircles all our lives, it was not God's will 
that he should perish. Now, nothing he has done seems more 
beautiful to me than the grand, soldierly resolution to hold on 
to his life and have the whole worth of it for his own sake and 
for ours. Life was dear to him. He loved the world. It was 
a beautiful world. When he had taken the great, solemn oath 
standing before all the people, the first thing he did was to turn 
to his old mother and his wife and kissed them, sealing in that 
grand, simple way the oath he had taken to serve us well. In 
some men that would have been the merest clap-trap ; in James 
Garfield it was the fine flower of his whole manhood. They 
take the sacrament when they are crowned in the great old 
lands ; that was his sacrament, and the noble old mother blessed 
her son, and the sweet, true wife her husband, and the children's 
hearts beat quick and proud for their father, and surely since 
the world was made we have seen nothing more sacred than 
this in which the old home life flashed out for an instant in 
that new beatitude. And so the home and the home treasures 
were what the good President fought for through the weakness 
and the pain. How could he submit if there was any help on 
earth or in heaven ? He saw the fear in the face that had chal- 
lenged him once out of all the world, and heard it in the voice 
to which his heart answered, and heard it in the sobs of the 
children, and then the instinct of a true, man w^ho has all these 
treasures to guard rose towering like some great angel over the 
threat of dissolution. I love to think of this splendid soldierly 
bearing as he lies there dead, and while it is all the harder for 



360 THE ASSASSINATION OTP 

us to lose such a man there is still another little spring of con- 
solation that he suffers no longer, who suffered so much. 
Something had been surely lost had he been resigned and sub- 
missive and said, " It is the will of God, and so I suppose it is 
all right." 



HIS TRUE CHARACTER SHOWN BY DEATH. 

SERMON BY REV. DR. CHAPMAN AT ST. PAUL's METHODIST EPIS- 
COPAL CHURCH. 

" Lessons of the Event" was the subject of the morning dis- 
course in St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, at Fourth Av. 
and Twenty-second St. Dr. Chapman, the pastor, preached. 
The church was draped, and from the pulpit was suspended a 
large portrait of President Garfield. 

We are gathered, said the preacher, under the shadow of a 
great sorrow, and a greater crime. Our hearts are sad, and our 
eyes are filled with tears, not merely that a good and wise man, 
a great statesman, and the Chief Magistrate of our nation, is 
dead, but also that he was killed by the bullet of an assassin. 
It would be a pleasant way to s})end the hour in eulogizing the 
name of James A. Garfield. The claims of his public life will 
need volumes to contain them; but it is perfectly proper in the 
house of God and on the Lord's Day to note the effect of this 
crime upon the country which we love. 

That assassination is to be the tool of political reformers in 
the future there is no reason to believe, nor that the crime was 
planned or known to any one but the depraved fanatic who 
struck the blow; but it is doing no one injustice to say that 
history teaches that a person who starts or aids a crime by 
slander and calunmy must share the blame with him who does 
the deed. I have no objections to parties in politics — they are 
a necessary factor in a republican form of government ; but I 
do protest in emphatic terms against one party blackening the 
character of its opposing candidate in the effort to elect its own 
man. Political campaigns, if rightly conducted, are educational 
in their effect, but not if scandal forms the chief argument. 
The bullet of an unprincipled, disappointed office-seeker has 
subdued all opposition and disarmed all criticism, and the whole 
world mourns to-day. Would to God it had not been left for 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 361 

such a cause to teach us the true character of James A. Garfield ! 
K this spirit of sympathy shall teach us to have more charity 
for those in authority, our beloved President will not have died 
in vain. One lesson taught us is that a public oflacer is elected 
not to dispense Federal patronage in return for votes, but to 
fulfil the duties of his office. There is nothing that should 
make every true American honor the memory of Garfield so 
much as the fact that he himself was President and not another; 
and Lord help his successor to follow in his footsteps, and not 
to be led by any advisers. By birth, education, moral charac- 
ter and ability, our President was a peer among men. Political 
intrigue did not advance him through the successive steps from 
the log hut to the White House, but pluck and worth. His life 
furnishes an example worthy the study of every young man who 
seeks an example to follow, and is worthy the study of every man 
of riper years who would learn how to conduct his pubhc life 
in the best way. His domestic life was grand. The chief 
corner-stone of all our institutions is the Christian home. 
Blessed be God for such a mother and such a wife as we have 
seen this summer. His religious life was also beautiful, and in 
the years to come there will be three great names in the history 
of our country, Washington, Lincoln and Garfield. 



WHAT THE PEOPLE MUST LEARN. 

THE REV. HENRY WARD BEECHER AT PLYMOUTH CONGREGA- 
TIONAL CHURCH. 

There were three or four hundred persons in front of Ply- 
mouth Church before 10 o'clock, and when the Rev. Henry 
Ward Beecher ascended the pulpit three quarters of an hour 
later there was not a seat to be had in the church. All the 
aisles were filled, and the crowd extended out into the street as 
far as the force of his voice could be heard, while three or four 
hundred went awav when they found that there was no chance 
of obtaining admittance. The church was trimmed simply but 
tastefully. The pillars of the organ were entwined with white 
crape, while from the top of the organ were suspended graceful 
folds of black and white. Pieces of black and white^ crape, 
extending around the building, were attached to the cornice and 
16 



362 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

also to the railing of the gallery. To the right of Mr. Beecher 
was a handsome bank of flowers, and at his left was a bunch of 
pampas grass. Mr. Beecher said in the course of his announce- 
ments for the week that during the last summer for the first 
time in thirty years he had been able to remain in comfort at 
home. He trusted that in the future he should be able to begin 
preaching on September 15 instead of October 1. His text 
was Psalms ciii. 15-17, and cii. 24-27. 

How short, said Mr. Beecher, is human life at the longest. 
We spend years in gathering knowledge, and die just as we get 
ready to use it. We learn how to live only to pass on. Yet 
we are not allowed to live even the short life allotted to man. 
A full life is accounted fourscore years, yet the average one is 
not more than twoscore. The babe grows up to maturity, but 
the web is broken and man stumbles on the threshold of his 
usefulness. Moralists and poets have filled the world with sad 
strains at the shortness of life, and to-day we stand before a 
strange manifestation of Providence. Why is it that the good 
man dies, apparently in the beginning of his usefulness ? Why 
is it that the hero to whom we pinned our faith has passed 
away ? We had gone through the war victoriously, and had 
lived through reconstruction ; we had fought the fight against 
greenback money and won ; we had just entered on the skirts 
of our promised land, when our leader, our Joshua, was stricken 
down. He was a man who united the best elements of his 
fellow-countrymen ; he was firm yet gentle, and in him the lion 
and the lamb seemed to lie down together; he was not an 
empty partisan, but he looked at all questions with a calm and 
unbiassed mind ; he had a love for learning, and he had acquired 
it by hard and incessant labor ; he had been bred upon hard- 
ship and poverty, and he had lived by the sweat of his brow; 
moreover he had been a preacher of righteousness. With 
almost the first sound of the trumpet he had gone forth to 
defend his country, and he earned a name as one of her leading 
generals. Later he entered the highest councils of the nation, 
and from that time on his name was found connected with every 
advanced measure. 

At length the Republic called Garfield to its highest office, 
because he was the very man for the place. Call the names of 
all the men honorable and useful in the courts, the army, and 
the navy, or in mercantile life — was there any one of them 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 3(53 

more needed than he was ? Four months only he presided over 
the nation, but his administration gave splendid promises of 
usefulness. But that bright vision has vanished. "Garfield 
has been shot !" flashed along the telegraph wires, and the whole 
world wept with his family. The drama is now ended. For 
weeks he lay fighting for his life. There were no more laurels 
to put on his brow and God took him. After twenty years the 
train bore him westward. He who entered Washington four 
months before amid the clanging of bells and the joyous shout- 
ing of the people was borne away in silence. Such a funeral 
march as that was never seen. Along its route men forgot to 
sleep, and watched its passage at all times of the night with 
bowed heads and in silence. " Blessed are the dead that die in 
the Lord." For them there are no more burdens or sorrows. 
Around the burial-place of this man let mothers gather with 
their children, to teach them to be brave and to be honest. 

But let us turn to the sublime God from these human 
measurements. What is time to him ? Man's life is like the 
bubble on the sea, which rises to the surface and gleams brightly 
in the sun, but only to burst. God measures all events by 
eternity, so that which may seem to us to be confusion is a 
benefit in his eyes. And so some benefit may arise to us from 
this disaster. Sometimes a single act may outweigh the rest of 
a man's life. So from Garfield's death we may gain something, 
although not in an exactly similar way. Washington is revered 
for his life, but how much more elevated his memory would 
have been if he had met with a tragic death for his country. 
Wise and gentle as our Saviour's life was, his death was of 
much more importance. Although we hoped to reap so much 
from Garfield's life, we may reap even more from his death. 
The North and South have felt for the first time the healing 
balm of mutual sympathy and grief. The wounds left by the 
war, and not yet healed over, will be mollified. There has been 
no division in the nation's sorrow, and its whole heart has 
beaten together. Charleston has felt the loss as bitterly as 
Philadelphia, and New Orleans has been as sincere in her grief 
as New York. Nor have party lines divided this sympathy. 

But still more striking than the unity of the nation in its 
grief has been the unity of mankind. When Lincoln was shot, 
the world was shocked rather than grieved. England had not 
yet learned wisdom, while the hands of France were still red 



364 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

with the blood of Mexico. But now no nation has been so 
obscure that it has not expressed its sorrow. From Russia and 
Turkey on the east to Japan on the west there has been a 
common sorrow. I think that never before has the heart-blood 
of the world been so stirred. But if this is the first time, may 
it not be the last ! 

This sympathy had also a moral comfort. Were there ever 
before so many prayers offered up ? The Mussulman, the 
Catholic, the Protestant, all prayed to God as they knew him, 
and in their own formality. But did God refuse to answer 
them, and is prayer a fiction ? In the lower sphere God gave 
no answer, but in the higher one he did. Is there no other 
answer of prayer save in continuance of life ? Could we not be 
more fortified and strengthened by President Garfield's death 
than by his life? Is this not a more sublime answer to our 
prayers ? We see people dying everywhere ; but except in 
the case of near relations or friends we scarcely feel that death 
is an affliction. But why should Garfield not die ? Because we 
looked upon him as a tree from which we should gather only 
good fruit ? But is it not better to have its branches raised 
higher so that it will benefit the whole world ? 

There are some lessons, continued Mr. Beecher, to be drawn 
from President Garfield's death, and there is one which I wish 
particularly ambitious young men should profit by. Our 
Government may be compared to a stately mansion which many 
are desirous of entering. Some walk boldly up to its front 
entrance and go in ; but others seek to enter by the back way, 
from which all the refuse comes. By the nature of our Consti- 
tution we are obliged to send men to our legislative bodies, and 
sometimes the ones selected are not the most suitable persons. 
But we cannot bear to have the public ideal destroyed and the 
opinion prevail that he who would enter politics must give up 
his honor, and advance by ignoble means. And when we 
behold a man strucrgling honorably for a political career and 
equipping himself as a statesman, it is an example that honor 
and integrity are not incompatible with political advancement, 
and that man's life will be an example as Washington's has 
been. 

In the simplicity of our habits there has been no need of 
protection around our Presidents. And it is still true that pub- 
lic opinion, with us, is better than the guard of any European 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 3(35 

monarch. There is no sense here of wrongs inflicted upon gen- 
eration after generation to stir men up to madness against their 
rulers. Our laws are of our own making and can be changed. 
Then only a short time must pass before we are freed from the 
most hateful ruler. Yet our legislation is incomplete. I would 
not have a guard if I were the President, for I had rather take 
the bullet than be protected from my fellow-citizens. But an 
attempt on the life of a man whom we have elected as our 
leader, and upon whom we all rely, should be treason, and its 
punishment should be death. [Applause.] But let this be 
done by law. No man has any more right to assassinate 
Guiteau than he had to assassinate President Garfield. Let us 
stand for the administration of justice. When the Rebellion 
ceased neither bullet, sword nor halter slew one man, and the 
moderation of our people impressed the whole world. And if 
Guiteau should die unlawfully there would be a spot upon our 
escutcheon. I have been angry with the miscreant, but I have 
obeyed the command of the Lord not to let the sun go down on 
my anger. Indignation has had its day ; now let law have its 
day. I have a right to speak thus of Guiteau. He once was 
with us, but not of us. He sat in this sanctuary among the 
worshippers. Robert Burns expressed a faint hope in one of his 
poems that the devil might yet be turned around the corner and 
be saved. Let us hope that Guiteau's life will not be ended 
suddenly by that wanton sentiment into which you have blown 
a breath. 

But what shall we say of that sorrowful group, Garfield's 
family ; of the mother, whose son preceded her, and of the 
wife who has shared her husband's elevation ? Love needs the 
presence of the loved one, and chastened though she is, there is 
no one that needs our prayers more than she. May the bless- 
ing of God, enriched by the tears of a whole people, rest upon 
his children, and may his sons follow in his footsteps. 



WORDS OF COMFORT AND WARNING. 

THE REV. DR. BELLOWS AT ALL SOULs' UNITARIAN CHURCH. 

At All Souls' Church the Rev. Dr. Bellows took for his text 
Isaiah lix. 7 and 8. Points from his sermon are as follows: 



366 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

We are assembled about the still open grave of our dead 
President. To-morrow while our watch is still kept, it will be 
closed, in the presence of a nation on its knees, and with bene- 
dictions in its mouth and tears in its eyes. Distant nations are 
near to us to-day and to-morrow, and great cathedrals and syn- 
agogues and even mosques will send up prayers to the One 
God and Father, that our loss, recognized as a bereavement for 
humanity itself, may be sanctified and consoled. It is an ex- 
perience unique in its majesty, its world-wide recognition, its 
flawless beauty and tragic pathos. Already the tender sugges- 
tions of the text are realized. A few days ago we were over- 
whelmed, as if by the shadow of God's wrath ; to-day, we al- 
ready feel the holy light in the thunderous cloud and the soft 
mercy that drops in tears from its awful frown. 

What passion of sorrow remains unknown to the nation's 
anguished and foreboding heart? We have wept ourselves 
dry ; we have prayed and pleaded until our lips have wearied 
themselves and almost God. To him has been accorded the 
extraordinary privilege of hearing his own eulogy, of witnessing 
beforehand the grief attending his own loss ! He has handled 
the wreaths that now lie upon his coffin, and felt with his sensi- 
tive instinct the love that was already pouring into his grave ! 
happy, fortunate man, to know the grief and affection that 
waited not his death to speak out the fullest tribute that could 
follow it ! Say not he died too soon ! When such a beautiful 
consummation has been possible — unequalled in the history of 
humanity ! 

The long suspense for the more hopeful and less informed is 
over. The only sure thing we have known for weeks about the 
President's case was that he was alive. No public prudence, no 
political policy, no medical etiquette, no professional caution 
could disguise that fact. When the history of his case is fully 
known, as it soon must be, we shall learn how much of the en- 
couragement and hopefulness that have existed on the official 
bulletin was real, and not merely scientific and professional. I 
doubt not his responsible physicians have fully performed their 
duty, and have given the President the absolute benefit of the 
one chance in a hundred, which he was brave enough to accept. 
We may perhaps learn something of value when we know not 
only the truth, which we may safely say has never been vio- 
lated, but the whole truth, which as safely we may say, either 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 367 

that it has not been deemed prudent to reveal it, or, as it now 
appears, was not surmised by the skill that watched his bedside. 
I hope it will come home to the common heart that nothing is 
so prudent and wise as the whole truth, and that in desperate 
illness, false hopes and roseate reports are not useful and safe. 
It has seemed strange that the country has caught its most 
trustworthy bulletins of the President's illness from the daily 
messages of the Secretary of State to our British Minister, and 
that it was deemed wise to deal with foreign courts and all Eu- 
rope with a frankness not due to the simplicity of the American 
people themselves. As to the storm likely to burst around the 
heads of the President's physicians, I wish to record my deep 
conviction that they have applied the most laborious pains and 
the utmost skill to his recovery, and the assuaging of his pains 
and weakness. 

It is pleasant to see what testimonies are coming in to the 
magnanimity, courage, prudence of our new President. There 
seems to be a profound resolve not to judge him in advance, 
and to give him the benefit of every doubt. The new Presi- 
dent has the temptations of all his past, to put the administra- 
tion President Garfield began off its track, to switch into the 
old Custom House groove and into the old spoils system plan. 
I can even believe that hitherto he has thought that to be true 
statesmanship, and is sincere in regarding the hoped-for policy 
of Civil Service Reform as wild and childish in its weak inno- 
cence. Well, if that is to prove his policy — if he has learned 
nothing to change his old and long-known opinions — then let 
him be warned that he has troubles before him too serious to be 
hastily invoked. The American people are in no mood to go 
back into a low, factious and partisan policy. They have 
awakened to the beauty of justice, reason, candor and common 
sense. They will not, at least not now, submit to the party 
whip and the usages of the old caucus system, where a few in 
an inner ring outwitted the general wish. General Arthur has 
a noble opportunity. He has had, too, a most gracious, if suf- 
fering, period for reflection. He can if he will, by fidelity to 
the spirit and policy with which the late Administration has 
been exalted, go on without a break and get the love and honor 
of the whole people by proving himself the people's President, 
and not the President of a party, much less of a faction. If he 
falls as low as that, or does not at once rise far above it, he will 



368 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

be the least honored among the little-honored predecessors who 
have risen to the high office by the death of its chosen occu- 
pant. God knows with sincerity and heartiness we pray that 
he may be wise and prudent, and that the mantle of his prede- 
cessor may fall upon him. If he wishes to lose all the great- 
ness now thrust upon him, he has only to take advantage of his 
position, to undo all his predecessor has done, and to leave un- 
done all he contemplated and has left ready to be finished. 

But he will not so disappoint his generous and trustful 
friends. There was a King Arthur, with his knights, cele- 
brated in English song, who is the centre of all that is inspir- 
ing, beautiful and sacred in the early legends, and the later 
poetry of our motherland. That name may again become 
glorious. It has a great and almost unequalled opportunity ; but 
it must not be coupled and surrounded with the knights who 
have hitherto rolled the honor of the Empire State in the dust. 
Alas, the Empire State has for generations been chiefly gov- 
erned from the tail and not from the head ; and the one peril, 
when a citizen of New York is President, is that the malignant 
influence of Albany and city partisan politics (always hateful) 
should throw its lurid shade over the whole policy and tone of 
the country. Let one Arthur redeem the Empire State to 
honor and justice and a wide patriotism, and he shall receive 
the lustre and share the splendor of that ancient Arthur, King 
of British and Welsh Celts, and not the slave of the modern 
Celts, who have so long ruled the City and State of New York. 



ENDEARED TO THE PEOPLE AS A BROTHER. 

THE REV. DR. J. H. RYLANCE AT ST. MARk's PROTESTANT EPIS- 



COPAL CHURCH. 



St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church was well filled yes- 
terday morning. The pulpit was appropriately decorated with 
flowers. The Rev. Dr. J. H. Rylance and the Rev. Mr. Mor- 
gan conducted the services. Dr. Rylance's sermon on the dead 
President was entitled " A Grievous Mourning." The preacher 
said in part : 

To the utmost circumference of this vast country and among 
all the civilized people of the earth there is grievous mourning 
over the death of one of our fellow-citizens. Such a spectacle 



PBE8IDENT GARFIELD. 369 

of woe has seldom been witnessed in the history of the world. 
Many will recall the horror of April, 1865, but the sorrow over 
the taking off of Lincoln was less widespread than now. Men 
gather round the form of President Garfield because he repre- 
sented the cause of reunion and political amity, to which he had 
devoted himself throughout a brilliant public career. Hence 
lamentations reach us from every part of the land. Old ani- 
mosities are brushed away. More brilliant pageants have been 
seen at funerals of kings and emperors, but this event comes 
home very closely to the bosoms of the American people. The 
general grief springs partly from the heroic history of the man. 
He was a genuine son of the soil, he was early inured to labor, 
and he never prostituted his power to partisan ends. Had 
God's hand smote him invisibly, or had he fallen on the field of 
battle, our grief would be deep, but submissive ; but such a 
taking off by a cowardly assassin without provocation adds des- 
peration to our sorrow. It is to be hoped, for the sake of hu- 
man nature, that it will be found to be the work of a madman ; 
but woe to him if it shall be shown to have been the work of 
malignant malice. 

The President's Christian resignation, his love of mother, wife 
and children, his murmured words, " The people, the people — 
my trust," have endeared him to us as a brother. When the 
perturbations of feeling have died down the abiding verdict on 
the President's career will be that it will be lasting in its influ- 
ence, and this opinion will be without qualification. He was a 
lover of peace, but not at the expense of what he believed to be 
true. He belonged to a party from conviction, but was never 
a partisan. He was a statesman of large experience and solid 
acquirements. 

How proud we should be that American civilization could 
produce such a man, and that universal suffrage could place 
him on the seat occupied by Washington, Jefferson and Lin- 
coln ! And yet how sad that it was to be undone by the 
deadly shot of an assassin ! Yet it was not wholly undone. 
Such a life is a precious seed, sure to bring forth abundant 
fruit. He, being dead, yet speaketh, and will continue to speak 
to unborn generations. Not a schoolboy who reads the history 
of his life but will be a better man for it. While the American 
people put the seal of approval on such a man we nfeed have no 
fears of the doings of demagogues. 
16* 



57*0 'I'HE ASSASSINATION OJf 

We owe President Arthur our prayers. In minor matters he 
may err, but in the main things we may hope for his success. 
Of all men, he must feel how dearly the people loved their 
fallen chief. Let him follow in the footprints left for his gui- 
dance, and a like love may also be his. He must dismiss 
worthless men who feed at the public expense, and appoint men 
of moral worth in their places. Character must be the prime 
requisite for those who seek to serve the nation. 



CONSOLATIONS OF THE HOUR. 

THE. REV. DR. W. M. TAYLOR AT THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE, 
NEW YORK. 

At the Broadway Tabernacle yesterday the pulpit was heavily 
draped in deep mourning and the pulpit furniture was covered 
with black cloth. The organ behind the pulpit was hung with 
the same material, and the entire railing of the gallery was cov- 
ered with graceful festoons of black. A large congregation was 
present, nearly every seat in the body of the church and the 
gallery being taken. The Rev. Dr. Taylor, the pastor, preached 
on the death of the President. The text was from Nunabers 
XX. 28 : " And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put 
them upon Eleazar, his son; and Aaron died there in the top of 
the mount." He spoke, in part, as follows : 

That is an old history that is here described, but in some of its 
features it has been repeated in our own country in the life of our 
beloved President. Of him it can be truly said that he ascended 
the mountain — attaining the highest office in the gift of the peo- 
ple. With his history the people are familiar, from the time he 
was a boy in his humble home to the night the tolling of bells 
announced that he was dead. We saw in him the most complete 
representative of the best elements of the nation. Alas! alas! 
he reached the summit like Aaron. During his illness the peo- 
ple were admitted to his bedchamber ; each of us had our hands 
upon his pulse. In many a song for years to come will reference 
i)e made to his heroic suffering and courageous sayings. In this 
publicity we find much consolation. It elevated into full view a 
noble example. From the first he was a man who was led by 
conscience ; from the day he would not take a right of way for 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 371 

his boat by stratagem on the canal until the day of the Conven 
tion that nominated him. He was a Christian, and he was not 
ashamed of his religion. He said Httle, but it was more a mat- 
ter of principle than emotion. He was always more ambitions 
for excellence than for position. The Presidency came to him 
unsought, the people calling him to office because of what they 
saw he could do for them. So in the elevation of such a man 
we find consolation, and are thankful that such a career has been 
brought so prominently before the public eye. In his devotion 
to his wife and mother and children we find an example ; and 
in the wife, too, whose place is second only to that of her hus- 
band — if indeed it be second — in the hearts of the people. 

We find another consolation in the unification of the people. 
For the first time in many years there is no sectionalism in our 
broad land ; all are bowed and weeping over the bier of Garfield. 
It looks as if the feud of years was being healed by his blood. 1 
think too the feeling will sweep away the abuses that make pub- 
lic offices the rewards of party selfishness. Even if the assassin 
be insane, office-seeking shaped his conduct ; and if he prove to 
be responsible, may nothing prevent his suffering the extreme 
penalty of the law ! There has been a growing tendency to put 
to death this nefarious system. Woe to the nian who attempts 
to prevent its death. Over the bier of Garfield let the people 
pledge themselves that he did not die in vain, and determine to 
slay the system, for if it is not slain it may bring the assassina- 
tion of the nation. 

The other nations of the world have also sat with us around 
the sick-bed. Thus have we been brought together in a bond 
of universal brotherhood. Sympathy has come alike from pal- 
ace and cottage, and the Queen of England has performed her 
queenliest acts in sending her messages of consolation. 

We must also sympathize with the present Chief Magistrate, 
who under such sorrowful circumstances has been placed in a 
trying position. He has before him the noblest opportunity if 
he only improve it. He has made mistakes, but they may serve 
as beacon-lights to guide him aright. Let us give him our con- 
fidence, so that it can never be said that the people failed him 
in the hour of his extremity. 

Another thought is that God is with us. Never have such 
earnest prayers been offered as in the past few weeks. Are they 
not tokens of God's being with us ? God livee. We have no 



372 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

doubts or misgivings about him who is to be laid away. Great 
is the contrast between the gloom of our loss and the gladness of 
his gain. 



LAMENTED AS A MAN, NOT A POLITICIAN. 

THE REV. DR. VINCENT AT THE CHURCH OF THE COVENANT. 

The Rev. Dr. Vincent preached yesterday morning in the 
Church of the Covenant, at Park Avenue and Thirty-fifth Street, 
from Psalm Ixv. 5: "By terrible things in righteousness wilt 
thou answer us, O God of our salvation ; who art the confidence 
of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon 
the sea." The pulpit was heavily wound with black, and there 
were signs of mourning upon the organ. Dr. Vincent said : 

An intelligent pagan reading these words would be strangely 
bewildered. How can terror and salvation flow from the same 
God ? It is a question that not paganism nor philosophy nor 
science can answer, and its solution can be found nowhere but in 
the Word of God. No announcement is needed of the event 
which suggests these thoughts. The blow has fallen upon the 
nation. Our President is dead, and we can only say " Thy will 
be done." God is addressed by the Psalmist as a hearer of 
prayer. One of the most startling features of the calamity that 
overshadows the land to-day is its relation to prayer. President 
Garfield went into office with a more universal prayer attending 
him than any other President ever did. It was known that he 
had difficulties and corruption to contend against, and the cry 
of the nation arose like incense to the Throne of Grace invoking 
the blessing of the Lord upon him. Few who prayed so earnestly 
looked to see an assassin's bullet for an answer to their prayers. 

Some of us heard the sad news of the crime far away among 
the hills. Then began the daily anxiety underlying all pleasure and 
all business, like the monotonous moan of the ocean. All through 
these long weeks what a tidal wave of unceasing prayer has been 
ascending to Heaven for the life of the President. To-day we 
have the answer — the terrible answer. There is something 
awfully impressive in this tremendous denial of a nation's prayer. 
What shall we say ? What can any one say ? We can only say that 
the God who does all things well has refused us an answer be- 
cause the answer could not have been risfht. It is better that 



PUESIBENT GARFIELD. 378 

God's will should have been done than that a nation's prayer 
should be answered. Go back to the agony of Gethsemane, 
where our Saviour prayed, " Let this cup pass from me, if it be 
possible ; yet not my will, but Thine, be done." If we have 
thought that our prayers were to be answered by the bending of 
God's will to ours, we deserve no answer ; but if we have prayed 
always with the thought uppermost, "Thy will be done," then 
our prayers are truly answered. 

The nation cried for the freedom of the slaves from their 
bondage. The prayer was answered, but by terrible things, of 
which the dying thunders still fill the air. But the answer has 
come, and the slaves are free. God's righteousness, with all its 
terrors, leads to salvation, and a great chastisement like this 
means a tremendous purpose of salvation if the nation will 
accept the lesson. This aflliction we may assign to the series of 
disciplinary providences. 

Every good man is meant to be a warning and an inspiration 
to his fellows. Such a gift of God was our late President. ^ One 
lesson sealed by his death is the lesson of character, and it is the 
more impressive in this instance because he was the direct out- 
growth of our national life. It is not a politician but a man 
that we lament. It is needful sometimes that one man should 
die for the people. Let us pray that this lesson of sorrow may 
never be lost. 



FINDING HOPE IN IMMORTALITY. 

THE REV. DR. CRAWFORD AT ST. LUKe's METHODIST EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH. 

The Rev. Dr. Crawford preached yesterday morning at St. 
Luke's Methodist Episcopal Church on " Lessons from the Death 
of President Garfield." His text was Psalm xxxix. 5 : " Verily 
every man at his best state is altogether vanity." 

We have, the speaker said, all been accustomed, I suppose, to 
think of our late President as an uncommon man. I do not 
know of any one of whom this description, " man in his best 
state," is more true. It is not yet time to give President Gar- 
field his place in history, but his name is associated with those 
of great men. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Garfield will 
go down to history together. His early struggles placed him in 



374 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

sympathy with the people, and that sympathy he never lost. 
He never broke the connections that bound him to the friends 
of his poverty and early life. He was a most cultured man. It 
is said that Secretary Evarts on returning from Europe brought 
gifts for all his friends, selected according to their varied tastes. 
For President Garfield he brought a beautiful edition of the 
works of a Greek poet. You look back at the fifty years of his 
life, and they seem like years spent in making a President. 
When he went to the National Convention no preparation for 
his nomination had been made. His choice seemed like the 
choice of David among his brethren. One was taken before 
the High Priest and then another, but none was chosen until 
the God-appointed David came forth. 

President Garfield was singularly happy in his family relations. 
When he went to school his future wife was a schoolmate with 
him ; when he taught school she was his pupil. Finally they 
were married, and what a family life has theirs been. I think 
this country is in need of nothing so much as examples of true 
family life. I am appalled when I see men whose family life is 
such as no man can bear to speak of receiving the honors of the 
country. About six months ago James A. Garfield and his wife 
started from their country home. He was to be the most prom- 
inent man in the country, and she the most prominent woman. 
Now they go back to the same home. She is a sorrowing widow 
with a memory of untold pains and suffering, and he a wasting 
corpse, whom even the eyes of man cannot look upon. *' Verily 
man in his best state is altogether vanity.'* But can such a man 
die ? When the body lies in the grave, is that all ? How I re- 
joice to think that President Garfield still lives. The thought 
of a glorious immortality will help us in our grief. We must 
remember that God still reigns, and that his providence over- 
looks the affairs of men. Was God with James A. Garfield in 
his early poverty ? You say yes. Was God with him in college 
and on the battle-field, when the bullets flew fast about him ? 
You say yes. But was he not also with him even on that fated 
second of July? 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 5^5 



OUR BEST PRESIDENTS MURDERED. 

THE COURAGE OF THE VICTIM, THE COWARDICE OF THE ASSASSIN 
SERMON BY THE REV. DR. R. S. STORRS. 

The Rev. Richard S. Storrs, D.D., pastor of the Church of 
the PilgriDis, Brooklyn, preached in the morning upon the les- 
sons to be drawn from the life and death of the deceased 
President. The church inside and out was draped with 
mourning emblems. "We are often impressed," said Dr. 
Storrs, " by the fact that in our intense experiences we cease to 
take distinct account of the progress of time. We do not 
count by the successions of day and night, by the series of 
weeks following each other, but we reckon our progress by the 
experiences one after another to fill our souls. Perhaps we are 
as impressively reminded of this to- day as we have ever been in 
time past. Looking back to-day twelve weeks ago, when the 
tidings of the assault upon the President had just reached us, 
it seems sometimes as if it were but yesterday — it seems again 
as if many months had passed since that event was so sadly 
made memorable. But we know the successions of the experi- 
ences through the interval we have been passing. It seems as 
if all the wisdom of our fathers ; all the wisdom of modern 
counsel ; all the wisdom and counsel of the nation itself in its 
elective action were at the mercy of one insignificant and deadly 
spirit. The end has come, and now the nation drapes itself in 
mourning, not merely in the churches where great assemblages 
congregate, but on every house hangs the insignia of grief. The 
national flag clings to its staff, heavy with crape and wet with 
tears. The civilized world pauses on its ways of pleasure to 
join in the sad ceremonies. To-day I ask you to hear the voice 
of God in the lessons which he brings to us through this sad 
and strangej and unexpected dispensation of his providence. 
Men sometimes say that the cause of Providence is not in it at 
all. It was mere human mortals. It was the insanity of a 
mind disordered. But God's providence controls the wills of 
men. That which has been intended even in defiance to him 
is made to bow and bend and submit itself before the incoming 
of his slain. Garfield was perfectly accustomed to the respon- 
sibilities and strain of public life; he had gone through the 
deadly storm of bullets on the battle-field ; he had been more 



376 TEE ASSASSINATION Ot 

than once prostrated with sickness, and then rallied. It seemed 
certainly that his life was safe for the four years to come. The 
nation did not feel it necessary to wall him around with any 
peculiar force. But God has taught us this lesson to the nation 
again and again. It is a fact to be observed that every Presi- 
dent who has died in his office has been one upon whom the 
heart of the nation was peculiarly resting with confidence in his 
wisdom. Harrison, Taylor, Lincoln — all died at a crisis. We 
are not drawn to that wretched assassin in jail, because we hear 
he shrinks in fear ; that he is continually in apprehension of 
violence ; that he moans and groans in this apprehension. I do 
not know that our hearts rather rejoice that so much punish- 
ment at any rate has come upon him. "Where are the infidel 
harangues to-day ? Where is the doctrine of the divine right 
of assassination to-day, which has been so eloquently asked in 
this country ? I see holier purity, the white banners of a bet- 
ter civilization marching on to the end of the history of the 
people. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES OF THE G. A. R. 

The memorial meeting under the auspices of the various 
Grand Array Posts of Kings County, New York, was attended 
by over 5000 people. It was a display of popular feeling in 
every respect worthy of the cause, and was characterized by a 
degree of earnestness and sincerity which could not well be 
mistaken. The immense edifice was crowded soon after the 
doors were thrown open — crowded to an insufferable extent. 
Not only was every seat occupied, but the aisles were blocked, 
and movement in any direction was out of the question. More 
people were turned away than the building could possibly have 
accommodated, and those within paid dearly for the privilege. 
It was intensely hot, and circumstances were rendered so much 
the more unpleasant by the surroundings that two women 
fainted, while there was complaint of suffering endured on 
every hand. The meeting, however, was eminently successful. 
There were present no less than a thousand veterans of the war, 
who occupied front seats, and who marched to the Temple in 
the order specified on the printed programmes, the gathering 
point being on the corner of Willoughby and Classon Avenues. 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. g77 

The veterans marched down Willongliby Avenue to the Cler- 
mont Avenue Temple to the notes of muffled drums and quietly 
took the places assigned them. The Grand Army badge which 
they wore was draped in crape, and black silk rosettes were on 
their arms. General E. B. Fowler was in command, the posts 
participating being as follows: Harry Lee Post, 21 ; Devins 
Post, 148; Barbara Freitchie Post, 11; Rankin Post, 10; 
Thatford Post, 3 ; J. H. Perry Post, 89 ; Mallery Post, 84 ; 
Mansfield Post, 35; Winchester Post, 197; Hamilton Post, 
152 ; Duport Post, 187 ; Ford Post, 161 ; Kerswill Post, 149 ; 
Frank Head Post, 16 ; T. S. Dakin Post, 206 ; German Metter- 
nich Post, 122; W. L. Garrison Post, 207; the Hancock 
Legion and the Fourteenth Regiment Veterans. 

The interior of the building gave evidence of the national 
grief. Festoons of serge swung gracefully from column to 
column, entwined the arches, and overshadowed the big organ 
in the rear. On the platform were the members of Dr. Fulton's 
choir, who supplied the singing, and a few invited guests. 
Major-General Henry W. Slocum presided, and by his side sat 
Rev. Mr. Beecher, whose entrance into the building, despite the 
fact that it is devoted to religious purposes, was greeted by 
tremendous applause. The only speakers were General Slocum 
and Mr. Beecher, the services being concluded by 10 o'clock. 
Barbara Freitchie Post, No. 11, carried a life size picture of 
Garfield as he appeared in uniform, underneath which were the 
words, " We mourn the loss of our comrade." This picture 
was placed by the side of the speaker's stand, overlooking the 
draped empty chair, which signified the death of an army com- 
rade. Shortly after 8 o'clock Dr. George S. Little called 
the meeting to order, and after stating its object, nominated 
General Slocum for chairman. The nomination was unani- 
mously confirmed, and on stepping to the front of the platform 
General Slocum spoke as follows : 

speech of general slocum. 

Ladies and Gentlemen and Members of the Grand Army 
OF THE Republic — As has been stated to you, you have assem- 
bled here to give expression to your feelings and views of tlie 
assassination of our comrade, who was President of the United 
States. It seems to me to be exceedingly appropriate for you, 
who as soldiers served with him during the war, and who, during 



378 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

the last ten or twelve years, have been comrades with him in 
the Grand Army of the Republic, to meet for a purpose like 
this, and yet I know full well that not one among you meets to 
mourn his loss simply as a soldier or simply as a comrade. You 
mourn his death as a loss to our country of one of the greatest 
and wisest rulers that the people have ever chosen. [Applause.] 
There is not one of you, I will presume to say, who has not re- 
cognized him as a great-hearted and large-brained and generous 
man. You mourn for him as one who has set an example in 
all the relations of life, such as but few of our public men in 
this country have ever done. While we are assembled here, in 
every city, in every village, in every hamlet in this land, from 
North to South and from East to West, people are congregated 
for a similar purpose, and yet of all the millions who are to-day 
mourning the loss of Garfield, how few there are who have 
ever enjoyed any personal acquaintance with him; how few 
there are in this land who have ever had the opportunity of tak- 
ing him by the hand and receiving that cordial, earnest grasp 
which ever made the man who received it a life-long friend. 
Not one in ten thousand people ever saw the countenance of 
Garfield. I shall never forget my first interview with him. 
After the repulse at Chickamaiiga our Government was forced 
to send troops from the Array of the Potomac to the West. 
We found the Army of the Cumberland with its supplies cut 
off, its soldiers on half rations, its animals dying by hundreds. 
At the earliest opportunity I saw General Garfield who was then 
chief of staff. He had entered the army eighteen months 
before without the slightest military training — never liaving had 
any connection with a military organization, yet by his zeal and 
by his good sense he had risen to be chief of staff of the Army 
of the Cumberland. Notwithstanding all the depressing circum- 
stances by which that army was surrounded Garfield was most 
cheerful, and, as I ever met him afterward, full of courage, full 
of pluck. I found, on mingling with the officers and men, that 
there was not one word spoken except in praise of him as a 
soldier. [Applause.] He had been in the service but one year 
and a half, and had raised himself to that high place and had 
obtained his promotion as major-general by the common con- 
sent and approbation of every one of his associates. You mili- 
tary men know that there are quite as many jealousies in 
military life as in civil life, and when a man gets to a high place 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 879 

with the common consent of all around him, you can always 
rest assured that he deserves it, and Garfield got that. 

AS GENERAL SLOCUM KNEW HIM IN CONGRESS 

I next met General Garfield in the House of Representatives, 
having been sent there myself from this district. As I say, T 
met him there and soon learned to admire him just as much as 
a statesman as I admired him as a soldier. Garfield was an 
earnest, honest, thorough-going Republican — I was a Democrat. 
Notwithstanding the fact that he was an honest, thorough-going 
partisan, there was never in all his career the slightest vindictive- 
ness, and this i say with great pleasure. He was as kind towards 
the people of the South as to his neighbor — kind and conciliatory. 
Look at his Congressional career and you will find no hatred of 
the Southern people. While I was in Congress with him both 
the great political parties gave evidence of being infected with 
a heresy in regard to financial matters which in my judgment 
would have brought dishonor and disgrace on our country. 
Notwithstanding the fact that both parties seemed to be sated 
with this heresy, Garfield never lowered his colors; not one 
word that he uttered could be construed as antagonistic to the 
best interests of the government. And I honor him for this as 
much as for any other act in his life. We are all disposed to 
look upon this event as a great calamity. It is in some 
respects a great calamity, and yet all these great calamities 
have their compensations, and I suppose this will have. This 
sad event will call to the minds of the rising gener- 
ation more forcibly than ever the career of General Garfield. 
His career, his whole life will be known in every household ; 
it will serve as a beacon light to all, pointing out the way to 
honor and to fame. I trust, too, it will have another effect. 
We have been troubled in this country within the last twenty 
years by a class of men known as communists — men who want 
some change or law which will give a poor man a chance. Read 
the life of James A. Garfield. Read the life of Abraham Lincoln. 
Read the lives of these two men, I say, and then tell me does any 
poor man want a more beneficent government than that furnished 
right here in the United States ? It has had another effect. It 
has buried all sectional animosities. I believe that every fair- 
minded man will agree with me when I say that the death of 



3g0 "THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Garfield has been as sincerely lamented in the South as in the 
North. This event covers the grave of all sectional animosity in 
this country. It should have, and I think it will have, a still 
broader effect, All nations on earth have evinced their sym- 
pathy with the American people, and with the family of our late 
President, and particularly has this been the case with regard to 
England and her noble queen, who sent messages which touched 
the hearts of all sincere Americans. It may have the effect of 
bringing great nations to recognize the propriety of settling 
their differences by arbitration instead of at the cannon's mouth. 
It certainly ought to be the effect so far as England and Amer- 
ica are concerned, where so much kindly feeling has been 
exhibited. There is no class of men in the world that can bet- 
ter appreciate having differences between countries settled by 
arbitration than the class now before me. You are soldiers, and 
I ask you all to lift up your voices in favor of settling all differ- 
ences between foreign nations as men ought to settle them in a 
quiet and peaceable way. I am afraid I have taken up too 
much of your time, but I could not avoid saying what I have 
said. 

An anthem was chanted by the choir, prayer was offered by 
Rev. Dr. Thompson of Williamsburg, and a chant, " Rest, Gar- 
field, Rest !" was sung by a quartet club. Then followed the 
memorial service as prescribed by the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, Commander Squires conducting it. " I know that my 
Redeemer liveth" was sung, and then General Slocum intro- 
duced Rev. Mr. Beecher as the speaker of the evening. 

HENRY WARD BEECHER's SPEECH. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen — After services so 
impressive and at so late an hour, and under circumstances in 
which you suffer so much inconvenience by heat and crowding, 
I shall not prolong my remarks to any considerable length. We 
are living at a period which will be considered in days to come 
an epoch. Few are aware of how great is the phenomena of 
which you are spectators and in which you are actors. For 
the first time in the history of the human family there has 
been an uprising of the whole world, civilized and uncivilized, 
on account of the death of one man. It never happened be- 
fore. It is itself not only new — it is the sign of a new dispen- 



PRESIDENT OARFIELD. 381 

sation, the herald of a brighter day. The world at last knows 
that all mankind are of one blood, one lineage, one hope, and 
we have the realization at last of the spirit of the Lord Jesus 
in which we are all bretiiren, throughout the civilized and the 
uncivilized world. During that terrible battle of the coucli 
through which Garfield passed (and he has been as brave 
against death as on the battle-field he was in the midst of 
death), during all those long and weary days the eyes of the 
whole world have been upon him, and the voice of prayer has 
gone up. If I could stand at the gate of heaven and describe 
the number and fervency of the prayers, assuredly your hearts 
would spring up with wonder and gratitude. Not alone they 
that believe as we believe, but those that believe at all in 
Providence and Divinity. The Pope in Rome, the Archbishop 
in England, the simple Quaker, the most enthusiastic Methodist, 
as well as the more stately worshippers of ritual — everywhere, 
crowned and uncrowned have been represented by their cries 
and tears at the throne of divine mercy for weeks and for 
months. Did ever such a spectacle occur before ? What has 
started them so? Was this a man of such genius that his 
light shone as the rising of the sun? Garfield was a man of 
great intellectual force, but not a man of illuminating genius. 
Was it because he was an Alexander or a Napoleon, an over- 
mastering general? He was an able general, but not in any 
such sense as to attract the attention of the civilized world. 
What has been the reason for this universal sympathy ? Partly 
because he represents the peculiar economy of this nation, and 
partly because he represents the highest elements in man's uni- 
versal consideration of human nature. Do you know that 
ninety nine men out of every hundred in this world have no 
business here — if you consider the estimate of their superiors. 
The mass of mankind are worthless in the estimate of genius 
and of philosophy. What are men good for? To make armies, 
to be used as bricks with which to build houses. The world 
over mankind have been accustomed to be trodden under foot. 
They have been taught by their rulers that resignation and sub- 
mission and contentment and humble sphere was most becoming 
— been taught to sink their individuality and take a back seat ; 
whereas, the true spirit of the gospel goes to show that each 
man is himself an empire, and that every empire is strong in 
proportion as the individual citizen is strong and free tq ^ct. 



382 THE ASSASSINATION OF 



INDIVIDUAI* MANHOOD. 

America represents more clearly the true gospel aspect of in- 
dividual life than any other country. Men are beginning to find 
out even in the most remote corners of the world that there is 
one land where every individual is counted as one, as a unit, the 
real value of which no language can compass or describe. The 
hand of the Lord that made me and you, that gave you and me 
something of himself, has imparted to us something of his own 
ascendency, and we shall live when the sun has forgot to burn, 
and when the whole universe has gone to ruin. The poorest 
man, black or white, red or yellow, has that in him which is 
immeasurably greater than the most sublime grandeur or the 
noblest genius that ever blossomed under the sun. This is 
the doctrine of America, and it was in its belief that our 
fathers came here. Although it was not phrased in this way, 
the real battle of the Reformation was for the right of a man 
to be a man. Our fathers came here partly for commerce, 
but more largely to develop institutions that would recognize 
individual manhood, and all our laws and customs springing 
from New England and sweeping westward over prairie and 
across mountain have this supreme tendency. Our fathers 
brought with them the idea of the dignity, and the union, 
and the grandeur of the State being in proportion to the 
power and the liberty and the strength of the individual. If 
there has ever been a man in our nation that represented pre- 
cisely these views, it was James A. Garfield. He was not born 
in luxury, and no silken-clad nurse took him from his sighing 
mother to cry in purple. He was born at the bottom — just 
enough to eat and drink, and nothing more. Not enough 
money for an education in the pocket of his father. The 
poorest boy that attends our common schools in tliis city is 
just a thousandfold greater and better off than Garfield when 
he was Jim Garfield, the little boy trotting barefoot around the 
Ohio village. But he was his own school-house. He was 
ashamed of ignorance,' and when other men slept and snored 
he found a gold mine, from the veins of which he brought 
precious treasure. As he grew up he knew almost every 
phase of the lowest experiences; he knew full well what it 
was to see power and greatness above him. He didn't run to 
the corner grocery store and cry out " Communism ;" he didn't 



PKESIDENT GARFIELD. 883 

lie lazy all his days and then cry out that the State was bound 
to help hira ; he didn't squander in pleasures all the money that 
he earned, and then cry out for a reorganization of society. He 
was a man who learned and practised all the virtues in qui- 
etude and simplicity with self-confidence until he became a 
teacher himself. Then called from that task he became a 
preacher of righteousness. 

AS TEACHER AND PREACHER. 

Both as teacher and preacher his heart was towards his kind. 
His business was to enrich others and not himself. When the 
war broke out he gave himself to his country. He went into 
the field, and withheld himself from no hardships. He knew 
what the war meant and what he meant — emancipation and 
liberty. Because of what he and men like him have done, you 
gentlemen of a dusky color who are sitting here to-night are 
recognized as the equals of those around you. People did not 
think much of America twenty-five years ago. They have 
changed their minds since. I had occasion to say one time, re- 
garding a case in Kansas, that a rifle was better than the Bible, 
and I tell you still that in the eyes of the whole world moral 
suasion is often better issued from the battle-field than any- 
where else. When we marshalled armies such as dwarfed those 
of Europe, and conquered the desperate and skilful men that 
were opposed to us ; when our citizens, on disbanding, returned 
to the civic occupations of life without a murmur, I aver that 
no officer and no man that carried a musket has from that day 
to this conspired against the liberty, the law, or the institutions 
of the land. When these people were tempted by the devil of 
repudiation, they said, " Get thee behind me," and even poli- 
ticians took the hint. W^hen afterwards a meaner devil at- 
tempted to juggle with the currency of the country the common 
people saw through it and made the currency honest, so that a 
man might pay a bill and not blush. Now, this spectacle has 
gone abroad and men have come into a new realization of what 
national life is. If there can be fifty millions of men free in 
every respect, and each man a part of God's universe ; if these 
men can wage war, pay their bills without grumbling, suffer 
taxation, maintain peace, go back to their occupations after, not 
in the least shattered in spirit, and live happily — if this great 
nation can thus exemplify what liberty means, then every poor 



384 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

man in every quarter of the globe will look to us and say, 
' That is the home of the poor man, the home of true man- 
hood, and the home for rae." They come from Ireland and 
England and Scotland, they pass over from Greece and Turkey 
and Russia and China, from all quarters of the globe — all seek- 
ing themselves in seeking us. The tidings of what this land 
really is have gone abroad to all the poor throughout the world. 
Now, Mr. Garfield, as the advocate of such men and such prin- 
ciples, stood before the world as the advocate of the rights of 
the common people, and when he was struck down every poor 
man on the face of the globe felt that *' our hero has been 
slain." This it is that has given such universality of interest to 
this proceeding. How came it that the aristocrats abroad and 
the Queen of England poured out the treasure of her all-enrich- 
ing heart? Because Mr. Garfield was not merely a representa- 
tive man and a noble man according to the highest and most 
elevated acceptation of the term, but he was a good man, and 
all of his impulses were towards kindness and love. 

THE COMMON HUMANITY OF MAN. 

He shone because he could not help himself. He represented 
the common humanity of man carried to its highest excellence, 
because the spiritual man fully developed itself in him. Gar- 
field subdued the inferior powers of his nature. The things 
best known of him were those things which coupled him in the 
highest and best way with the welfare of his fellow-man. It is 
the admiration of the world that Christianity has gone so far 
that all men begin to feel that there is nothing on the face of 
the earth so noble, beautiful, and attractive as a full-grown, 
right-minded, loving soul of a strong man. No picture, no 
sculpture, nothing anywhere, after all, is so attractive to men as 
a man of God, and therefore a man of the common people. It 
is all these things that have given to Garfield the universal in- 
terest of the whole human family. Let me say a word beyond 
this : Has the world lost him ? When the farmer goes into the 
field and scatters the seed, does he lose it? Will not every 
single kernel die that it may bring forth one hundred-fold ? 
Garfield never could have been so influential in Washington as 
he is now. Having laid down his life for a principle, 
that principle has had atonements. The laying down of 
his life is the resurrection of bis faith and power throughout the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 385 

whole world. His influence will come down again as the dew 
or the rain upon the grass. Is there nothing more than eulogy 
that we can do for him ? Yes. Carry out the work that he 
began. The might of this nation is increasing, the wealth is 
becoming gigantic, the government holds a power which is 
waxing with every generation, the struggle for ascendency is be- 
coming greater, and our danger in the future lies in putting too 
much power into the hands of ambitious men. Garfield went 
to Washington with pledges and with a disposition to see that 
a civil service system should be established by which the cor- 
ruptions which had sullied politics should be purged out. You 
must complete that work. I believe that Mr. Arthur will under- 
take to do it. If he should undertake to purge our govern- 
ment of its corruption in these respects, he will at the end of 
his term be scarcely second to the man he succeeds. If Mr. 
Arthur should go away from this purpose he will be as a broken 
bucket at the cistern and will draw no water. 

Mr. Beecher went on to refer to Guiteau, saying that he was 
not among those who could refuse to pray for him. lie referred 
to the mother, the wife, and family of the deceased President, 
and concluded by saying that he hoped God would bless the 
household in order that there might be another generation of 
Garfields. 

The benediction was then bestowed and the gathering dis- 
persed. 



MEMORIAL SERVICES AT THE BROOKLYN TABER- 
NACLE. 

The memorial service at the Tabernacle was a great demon- 
stration. At half-past 6 o'clock upward of 2000 people were in 
front of the building, patiently awaiting the opening of the 
doors. The crowd rapidly increased, so rapidly that the build- 
ing was opened earlier than had been contemplated, and at 7 
o'clock it was literally packed to the outer doors. Pews and 
aisles were jammed, and even the preacher's platform was in- 
vaded. It was estimated that there were between six and seven 
thousand people crowded into the vast auditorium. The heat 
was intense. The church was appropriately decorated. A 
picture of the late President, flanked by flags draped in mourn- 
17 



386 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

ing, was placed on the front of the organ, directly over the pas- 
tor's chair. Mr. George W. Morgan, the organist, and Mr. 
Peter Ali, the celebrated cornetist, furnished the instrumental 
music, which was of the finest description. Thej played at 
intervals daring the evening. Their rendering of "Inflamma- 
tus" and "Cujus Animam," from Rossini's "Stabat Mater," was 
especially brilliant. Mr. Morgan never played better, and Mr. 
Ali surpassed all his previous efforts. 

Upon the platform were Rev. Dr. Talmage, who conducted 
the services, Supreme Court Judge Edgar M. Cullen, Corpora- 
tion Counsel William C. DeWitt, U. S. District Attorney Ten- 
ney, Congressmen William E. Robinson and J. Hyatt Smith, 
Bernard Peters, Senator William H. Miirtha, Henry Hartcau, 
and others. At 8 o'clock the meeting was opened by Dr. Tal- 
mage, who explained that Mayor Howell, who was to have pre- 
sided, had gone to attend the funeral at Cleveland. He said 
that those who would address the meeting that evening would 
have the widest liberty to say whatever their sympathies or 
patriotism might suggest. Dr. Roche led in prayer, and 
the great congregation then united in singing the grand old 
hymn, *• Nearer, my God, to thee," with overwhelming effect. 
At the close. Dr. Talmage introduced as the first speaker, Judge 
Joseph Neilson, of the City Court, who was received with 
applause. 

SPEECH OF JUDGE NEILSON. 

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen — I have no hope 
whatever of being able to say anything appropriate to this sol- 
emn occasion. Others may find words of consolation, teach us 
to be resigned to the dispensation which has fallen upon us. 
And yet, we have some lessons taught us of present and perhaps 
of future value. Since the news of the assassination reached 
us we have had a changeful life. The first whisper of that event 
came over us like a cold storm. That storm continued for 
weeks — now and then the clouds breaking, a rift letting in a 
gleam of sunshine, and then the pall settling black and dark as 
ever. But from out that tempest we have come, and, by our 
representatives to-day, we have laid the President in his last 
earthly home, and death has put upon his brow the coronation 
seal. How much he loved life we all know. There was the 
grand office iu which we had placed him, placed him honestly 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 337 

and honorably— the Presidencj of the United States. He had 
a charge to keep, doubtless meant to keep it. There were 
friends very near and very dear to him ; there was his family 
some of them yet so young that they needed his hand to train 
and lead them. So he clung to life strongly during all those 
weeks. Well, now, we have this consolation, we did for him 
what we could. So with us, I believe, from all the information 
I have, that they called in the best (I make no invidious com- 
parisons), I mean among the best of the medical and surgical 
profession to attend him. There is just one other thought, with 
your permission. They speak of monuments here, and, to our 
grateful surprise, they speak of monuments beyond the seas. 
That is well ; commends our people to others, and others to us. 
Still, I have thought, and think still that if, after the President 
was smitten and before he died, he could have had a full, realiz- 
mg sense of the sympathetic heart of the American people in 
respect to him, could have seen that all parties and all classes of 
people everywhere throughout the length and breadth of the 
land, from sea to sea, united in their wish that he might recover, 
united in detestation of the crime — and if, moreover^ beyond all 
that, he could have had a prophetic view of what should occur 
after his death — if he could have seen that the great cities of 
the land would be represented at his funeral, that everywhere 
demonstrations of attachment, respect, affection and regret 
would be met with, I think he would have said, "Give me 
this ! all this, rather than piles of granite mountain high!" 

Mr. Morgan played the " Dead March in Saul," the congrega- 
tion, at the request of Dr. Talmage, rising and remaining stand- 
ing during the performance, as the people did in St. Paul's, 
London. Dr. Talmage introduced Mr. Tenney as a personal 
friend of the late President and as a man whose eloquence had 
mightily moved the people of this and other States. Mr. Ten- 
ney was warmly received. 

SPEECH OF A. W. TENNEY. 

My Fellow Citizens— We have assembled here to-night as 
citizens of a great city, and of a great republic, to place a trib- 
ute of affection and regard upon the nevvly-niade grave of our 
loved and martyred President. The circumstances that have called 
us together are inexpressibly sad as they are peculiarly thrilling. 
Assassination has again entered the executive chamber of this 



388 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

nation and done its worst. A life, measured by what it has ac- 
complished, without a parallel, a career without a rival, a record 
without a stain, a courage in the face of death that has challeno-ed 
and won the admiration of the world, a patience in long suffer- 
ing almost akin to divinity itself, has at last received the crown 
of martyrdom. To-day, under an early autumnal sky, within 
the limits of the fairest city of all the West, by the shore of the 
blue waters of Lake Erie, in sight of the very spot where stood 
the log cabin in which he was born, within an hour's ride of the 
house and the farm he loved so well, this mighty people with 
bowed heads and bleeding hearts have laid to rest one of the 
grandest men of our race. Child of no fortune, heir to no 
throne, and yet at the age of 49 years and 10 months he dies 
the most loved and honored man within the circuit of the sun. 
Born in poverty, matured in want, educated to the hardest kind 
of hard work, and yet, with his own right hand he breaks the 
invidious bars of birth 

And ascends Fame's ladder so high 

That from the round at the top he stepped to the skies. 

But America mourns not alone the death of her illustrious son. 
Nations are in tears ; the world is in mourning because Garfield 
is dead. Not because he was President of this Republic, but 
I'ccause he was, in the fullest meaning of that word, a man. 
I'^ngland, by order of the Queen, puts on court mourning be- 
cause of the death of the President of the United States — 
an imperial honor which she has never before conferred 
upon any dead, either at home or abroad, except those of royal 
blood. More than this, even Victoria, Queen of the British 
Isles and queen of women, steps from the royal throne she so 
greatly adorns to that higher and loftier station held and occu- 
pied by every loving Christian woman, and across three thousand 
miles of sea she cables again and again her love and sympathy 
not only to this nation, but to that other queenly woman — to 
that stricken wife and mother, who by her devotion, her forti- 
tude and her love takes her place by the side of her martyred 
husband in the affectionate regard of the entire human family. 
God bless Queen Victoria for the love and sympathy she has 
shown this nation and the nation's widow during those days of 
anguish and of tears! Turning from the mournful present we 
face the coming dawn of the near future. Garfield is dead, but 
the government by the people and for the people still lives. 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 389 

Men may say, and some do so, tliat because two Presidents have 
been assassinated within sixteen years, America is fast becoming- 
like Russia, Mexico and Central America. No, no, my country- 
men; the perpetuity of the American Republic depends not 
upon the lives of Presidents or Senates. It lives in the hearts 
and patriotism of the people, and it will die and cease to be 
only when they shall prove themselves recreant to their trust 
and forgetful of their duty. We want no more assassination 
of Presidents, and as one thing to prevent this we want no co- 
quetting with the technicalities of the law in behalf of the assas- 
sin we now have on hand. But we want for him the judgment 
of the law, like the wrath of Almighty God, to be swift, certain 
and sure. Though clouds and darkness are around and about 
us, there is no occasion for despondency. The helm of state 
is in safe hands, and I counsel you, my countrymen, to be of 
good cheer. I know President Arthur, and I know him to be 
an honest, patriotic man, a man who thoroughly believes in the 
great principles that underly our American Government. A 
man of great experience, of broad and liberal views, of tran- 
scendent executive ability, of great caution and mature judg- 
ment, and who, having the courage of his own convictions, will 
dare to do right. He is right at "heart, and I firmly believe and 
so prophesy ,%hat he will prove himself a worthy successor of 
President Garfield. 

Hon. William. E. Robinson was the next speaker. After the 
applause with which he was greeted had subsided, he said : 

SPEECH OF HON. WILLIAM E. ROBINSON. 

The first time I saw James A. Garfield was in Wall Street, at 
the vast meeting of our citizens which stood aghast in front^ of 
the Custom House, in April, 1865, the day after the assassination 
of Abraham Lincoln. Simeon Draper, Edwards Pierrepont, Moses 
H. Grinnell, General Butler and others had made speeches. I 
sat on the platform, near the presiding ofiicer, Mr. Draper, and 
remember the protest which General Garfield entered against 
the country becoming a nation of assassins. How little he then 
thought that the very next one to fall as Lincoln fell should be 
himself ! I don't remember that he used the language blazing 
to-night in letters of fire on the columns of our City Hall, 
" God reigns, and the government at AVashington still lives !" 
The next time I saw him was when I met him in Congress. We 



390 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

were both at Willard's and I saw him every day. One day he 
asked me to give him the history of my life, as he had under- 
stood that I had fought my own way from boyhood. He had 
a desire to become acquainted with James T. Brady, and I en- 
joyed their hearty greeting of each other in Mr. Brady's room. 
Mr. Garfield had strong religious feelings. He had early joined 
the body known as Christians or Disciples of Christ or Re- 
formed Baptists, or perhaps more generally Campbellites. The 
Disciples were scattered over Western Pennsylvania, Virginia, 
Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, and in some of the large cities, 
and now number themselves by the hundred thousand. It 
might be mentioned that the founder of this sect, of which Mr. 
Garfield was the most illustrious disciple, was a native of the 
same village in which President Arthur's father was born. I 
have heard a great many things from this platform and pulpit 
which I like, and nothing has pleased me more than the honest 
growl from its distinguished pastor, on Friday evening last, 
against the patronizing palaver of tyrants. I would not repel 
the sympathy of a Magdalen or a monarch, for it is a sign of vast 
progress when the proudest among the despots of the earth 
write letters of sympathy to the noble wife of one who earned 
his living on a tow-path. But 

*' Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes." 

I value more the sympathy of the poor and the honest condo- 
lence of labor. I prefer the widow's mite to the more ostenta- 
tious contributions of wealth and fashion. This calamity has 
given us higher hopes and broader views of our destiny. How 
grand was the character of our beloved President. How 
noble the elements displayed in the heroic conduct of his wife, 
and how consoling to all Americans are the hopes and assur- 
ances of the stability of our institutions. There are many 
heroic American boys now toiling on the tow-path of life, who 
will yet sustain the high character of American manhood as de- 
veloped in James A. Garfield, and thousands of our American 
girls, now at our public schools, who if subjected to similar 
trials will develop similar traits of heroic American womanhood 
as illustrated by his wife. We have buried our dead, and in his 
grave I trust we have buried our sectional hatreds and political 
follies. The South and the North grasp loving hands over his 
closing grave. Conspicuous by his auspicious presence, the grand 



PRESIDENT OABFIELB. 391 

soldier of Gettysburg pays his proper homage to him who won 
his laurels on the bloody field of Chickamauga. I am here to 
fling a modest flower as his funeral is passing. I stand in this 
vast tabernacle, in my own district, which gave eight thousand 
Democratic majority, to deplore, and thus fitly represent my con- 
stituents in deploring, the loss of a Republican President. Had 
he lived his administration should have had my support in all 
that an honest Democrat could do to make the country happy and 
prosperous under it, and I think I represent truly the Democrats, 
as well as the patriotic masses of the Republican party who re- 
side in this district, when I say that to his successor I shall give 
similar support. I was among the five million American voters 
who cast our votes for the unsuccessful candidate, but General 
Garfield was and General Arthur is the constitutional President 
of a great and united people, whose representatives should make 
no factious opposition to an honest administration, trying to 
serve the best interests of a common people. 



SPEECH OF WILLIAM C. DE WITT. 

There is no need, ladies and gentlemen, for my voice to swell 
the general anthem of sorrow or of praise over the death of the 
President. It is time to turn our eyes to brighter things. The 
funeral rites are ended. The chief whose death has nearly broken 
the nation's heart now lies buried in the bosom of his own be- 
loved Ohio. The obsequies have been adequate. The mourn- 
ers comprise the whole American people, and the sombre tokens 
of bereavement mark every household in the land. Poetry and 
oratory have exhausted themselves in pathos and eulogy. Gar- 
field sleeps to-night under a wide canopy of showering and shin- 
ing stars. Memory's urn is full and the historic cemetery at 
Cleveland will hereafter breathe forever of the fragrance of the 
flowers of every State and of every clime. Night closes in 
upon the scene, and the oflSces of mourning and of sorrow are 
discharged. It would be a sad commentary upon an intelligent 
people if they exhausted themselves in ebullitions of feel- 
ing alone upon the event. The hour has arrived to consider 
the lessons taught by the terrible calamity and the immediate 
and the exigent needs of our country and the future. So far 
as I say anything, let me reason with you upon the practical 
aspects of this sad occasion, and let me take up the liberty 



392 THE ASSASSWATION OF 

which your distinguished pastor extended when he said this 
was a platform for free speech. 



There is an individual question that may be disposed of in a few 
words, which I think still requires comment. We feel a shock 
of unutterable shame and resentment at the thought that such a 
fiend in human shape as Guiteau could be born of woman. I 
cannot conceive what purpose his being has in the economy of 
the universe, unless it is to confound the theory of Darwin about 
the " survival of the fittest," and to operate as a knock-down 
argument against the proposition of Mr. Ingersoll, that infinite 
justice does not require an eternal hell. This thing answers 
these two purposes. Guiteau is undoubtedly, in a metaphysical 
sense, a lunatic — a raving, ranting, infernal lunatic. But our 
people hesitate to believe this, because they think it follows that, 
being a lunatic in a general sense, he will not be liable to the 
punishment of death. As I have been introduced as the lawyer 
of this occasion, permit me to inform you that such is not the 
law. The grand old English common law, the finest and richest 
heritage which we have received from our ancestors, prevails in 
Washington, and it requires only this measure of sanity in order 
to hold a man guilty of crime : If Guiteau knew that what he 
did was wrong, that it was murder and punishable by death, he 
fills the measure, and is responsible for his act. Now if all men 
who were not entirely sane were irresponsible in the criminal 
law, there would be more liberty and license than any peaceable 
citizen would like. None of us are entirely sane, I fear. There 
is a streak of unsoundness in everybody, and there is a terribly 
broad track of lunacy in this miserable wretch ; but he knew 
what he did was wrong, that the shot he fired entailed homicide, 
and that the punishment established for the crime was death. 
Hence, the American people need have no apprehension that 
leaving him to the law he will be convicted and hung. The 
gallows will receive new infamy from his death, and his char- 
acter, as I have already intimated, will add great strength to the 
old orthodox notion of eternal punishment which has prevailed 
in the church in whose edifice I have the honor now to stand. 
But there is a wider field than any individual question thrust 
upon us now. 



PnmiDENT GARFIELD. 393 



THE PAST TWENTY YEARS. 

Our country needs reformation. That is evident. As I had 
occasion to say the other night, the past twenty years have been 
thronged with most unnatural and starthng events. I make no 
comment upon them, but they seem like the features of a hide- 
ous dream. We had five years of war, not ordinary war against 
a foreign enemy, but home-made war — the hand of brother 
bathed in brother's blood ; fratricidal war carrying to their long 
homes a million and more than a million of our people. Within 
these past twenty years we have witnessed corruption and dis- 
honor pervading all branches of the public service — local crime 
seated in local office — State corruption running riot in the State 
Legislature, and even the government at Washington victimized 
by hordes of dishonest employees. Within twenty years we 
have had one President impeached and tried for high crimes 
and misdemeanors — another holding office for four years under 
a title which was, to say the least, far from satisfactory even to 
his own supporters, and now two Presidents — as I said before, 
I make no comments upon these facts ; I wish only that the 
American people may reason, may look at the truth and look at 
these facts, and see what are the lessons of the hour — I say we 
have had two Presidents who have fallen at the hand of the 
assassin. If these events had occurred among a passionate and 
thoughtless people, they would not be so remarkable. Look at 
them dispassionately, as the historian will look upon them a hun- 
dred years hence. The singularity of them is that they have oc- 
curred among an intelligent and a prosperous people. A poor 
man will be excused for being seen in a poor coat, but why should 
the rich go about like tramps ? Why should the American peo- 
ple, great, intelligent, wealthy, powerful, have thrown out in the 
progress of their events these stupendous happenings ? It is not 
the fault, as I have said, of the masses ; it is not the fault of our 
civil law, for the wisest civil law on earth prevails in this coun- 
try ; it is not the fault of our government, for the government, 
as has been said here to-night, framed by Washington and his 
compeers, constitutes the finest fabric of human government 
that ever blessed the earth. What is it, my friends ? I think I 
know, and if you will allow me, without any manifestation of 
criticism, I will undertake to tell you with that frankness which 
I try to employ whenever I am addressing my fellow-men : 
17* 



g^4 THE ASSASSINATION Of 



THE MONSTER EVIL. 

The party warfares, the manner of administering political par- 
ties, is the monster evil of the times. What have we ? The 
Democrat clings to his party because of some faith in the prin- 
ciples of Jefferson and the revolution of '98, some devotion to 
community independence and State rights — things that are as 
inopportune as the fashions of the Knickerbockers. The Repub- 
lican adheres with boundless enthusiasm to his party, because it 
was the party of emancipation, the party which, he claims, car- 
ried the country triumphantly through the war — things great, 
as I am glad to see my applauding friends regard them, yet 
things of the past. Neither party represents the living and agi- 
tating issues of the hour. If you have any views upon the 
questions of protective tariff or free trade — which party repre- 
sents them ? It may be that in the glittering symbols of a party 
platform something is presented, but the adherents of each party 
are actually divided almost in half upon that issue. If you have 
distinctive views upon the question of civil service reform or 
upon the great or growing questions arising from the universal 
concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, the upgrowing 
of large corporations and their influence upon the administration 
of government — if you have strong convictions on either one of 
these questions — neither party gives full expression to your 
views. I would just as soon think of sending a young man to 
do his courting among the inmates of the Old Ladies' Home as 
to send any patriot with strong views on any of the live issues 
of the times to either of the present political parties for a proper 
exposition of his sentiments. Now, it was never the design 
that a party should last so long upon dead issues. The sover- 
eignty of this country rests with the people. The crown is in 
the hands of the masses, and the theory of the fathers was that 
our government was to represent the voice of the people ; but 
now the voice of the people must go and pipe itself, instead of 
through the cornet of some new and present party, through 
some old revolutionary and broken horn. If a man be up for 
-office, it is not how well he can serve. The idea of a man run- 
ning for local office in any city of the country being selected 
witii reference to the particular views he has in respect to the 
resolutions of '98, State rights, emancipation, or some other 
uitional issue ! They have no more to do with local govern- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 395 

ment than his views about the obliquity of the ecliptic, or the 
moons of the planet Jupiter. Not a bit. Nor have his views 
on these national questions any more to do with the candidate 
for State office, and so I say it is we have here a form of popu- 
lar expression in the shape of party which dqes not give vent to 
the sentiment and the spirit of the masses — which quarrels for- 
ever over dead issues, and hence by bearing down upon the one 
point makes a lunacy among the masses instead of a government 
of the people. And it was this perpetual agitation, it has been 
this perpetual agitation which has led largely to the events to 
which I have alluded. 

A NOVEL PROPOSITION. 

In the liberty that was extended to me, let me say, for one, I 
believe the wisest and the greatest and the most heroic thing 
that President Arthur could do would be to imitate the example 
of General Washington, in whose Cabinet sat the State rights 
Jefferson and the Federalist Hamilton, and select the new Cabi- 
net indifferently from the leading men of each political party, 
and range his administration upon all the living issues of the 
times, and then at its close take upon it the fair verdict of the 
people at the polls. I understand that the hide-bound partisan 
and politician would carp and rave at such an act ; but I believe 
the American people would rise to a full appreciation of so novel 
and grand a piece of statesmanship. Now, my friends, these 
are the ideas that I think meet for the occasion. 1 hope there 
will be no more WTangling for Federal patronage, such as has its 
blossom in this poisonous thing that is to die. I hope there 
will be no more abusive quarrelling between parties after there 
has been such a manifestation of common sympathy and com- 
mon patriotism. I trust the American people will come up to 
a new and a better time. We want a new dispensation and 
another day, and as we journey up out of the shadows of this 
hard and painful gloom — out of the valley of this most unusual 
night, let us press on to the mountain tops. Lo ! the morning 
dawns, and there shall be for our country a new heaven and a 
new earth. 



396 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



HIS ANCESTORS AND BIRTHPLACE. 

On both his father's and his mother's side General Garfield 
comes of a long line of New England ancestry. The first of 
the American Garfields was Edward, who came from Chester, 
England, to Massachusetts Bay as early as 1630, settled at 
Watertown, and died June 14, 1672, age ninety-seven. One of 
the family, Abraham Garfield, a great-uncle of General Garfield, 
was in the fight at Concord Bridge, and was one of the signers 
of the affidavits sent to the Continental Congress at Philadel- 
phia to prove that the British were the aggressors in that affair, 
and fired twice before the patriots replied. After the Revolu- 
tionary War several members of the family left Massachusetts 
and settled in Central New York. General Garfield's father, 
Abram Garfield, was born there in 1799. He lived there till 
his eighteenth year, when he went to Newburg, Ohio, and soon 
after settled near Zanesville. He was a tall, robust young fel- 
low, of very much the same type as his famous son, but a 
handsomer man, according ta the verdict of his wife. He had 
a sunny, genial temper, like most men of great physical strength, 
was a great favorite with his associates, and was a natural leader 
and master of the rude characters with whom he was thrown in 
his forest-clearing work and his later labors in building the 
Ohio Canal. His education was confined to a few terms in the 
Worcester district school, and the only two specimens of his 
writing extant show that it was not thorough enough to give 
him much knowledge of the science of orthography. He was 
fond of reading, but tlie hard life of a poor man in a new coun- 
try gave him little time to read books, if he had had the money 
to buy them. The weekly newspapers and a few volumes bor- 
rowed from neighbors formed his intellectual diet. 

On the 3d of February, 1820, Abram Garfield and Eliza 
Ballou were married in the village of Zanesville by a justice of 
the peace named Richard H. Hogan. The bridegroom lacked 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 397 

nine months of being twenty-one years of age, and the bride was 
only eighteen. Eliza Ballou's father was a cousin of Hosea 
Ballon, the founder of Universalism in this country. Eliza was 
born in 1801. The Ballous are of Huguenot origin, and are 
directly descended from Maturin Ballon, who fled from France 
on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and with other French 
Protestants joined Roger Williams's colony in Rhode Island, 
the only American colony founded on the basis of full religious 
liberty. The gift of eloquence was undoubtedly derived by 
General Garfield from the Ballous, who were a race of preachers. 

The newly-wedded pair went to Newburg, Cuyahoga County, 
Ohio — now a part of the city of Cleveland — and began life in a 
small log house on b new farm of eighty acres. In January, 
1821, their first child, Mehitabel, was born. In October, 1822, 
Thomas was born, and Mary in October, 1824. In 1826 the 
family removed to New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas County, where 
the father had a contract to construct three miles of canal. In 
1827 the fourth child, James B., was torn. This was the only 
one of the children that the parents lost. He died in 1830, 
after the family returned to the lake country. In January, 
1830, Abram went to Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, 
where lived Amos Boynton, his half-brother — the son of his 
mother by her second husband — and bought eighty acres of 
land at $2 an acre. The country was nearly all wild, and the 
new farm had to be carved out of the forest. Boynton pur- 
chased at the same time a tract of the same size adjoining, and 
the two families lived together for a few weeks in a log house 
built by the joint labors of the men. Soon a second cabin was 
reared across the road. The dwelling of the Garfields was built 
after the standard pattern of the houses of poor Ohio farmers 
in that day. Its walls were of logs, its roof was of shingles 
split with an axe, and its floor of rude thick planking split out 
of tree-trunks with a wedge and maul. It had only a single 
room, at one end of which was the big cavernous chimney, 
where the cooking was done, and at the other a bed. The 
younger children slept in a trundle-bed, which was pushed 
under the bedstead of their parents in the daytime to get it out 
of the way, for there was no room to spare ; the older ones 
climbed a ladder to the loft under the steep roof. lu this house 
James A. Garfield was born, November 19, 1831. 

The father worked hard early and late to clear his land and 



398 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

plant and gather his crops. No man in all the region around 
could wield an axe like him. Fenced fields soon took the place 
of the forest; an orchard was planted, a barn built, and the 
family was full of hope for the future when death removed its 
strong support. One day in May, 1833, a fire broke out in the 
woods, and Abram Garfield, after heating his blood and exert- 
ing his strength to keep the flames from his fences and fields, 
sat down to rest where a cold wind blew, and was seized with a 
violent sore throat. A country doctor put a blister on his neck, 
which seemed only to hasten his death. Just before he died, 
pointing to his children, he said to his wife, " Eliza, I have 
planted four saplings in these woods. I leave them to your 
care." He was buried in a corner of a wheat-field on his farm. 
James, the baby, was eighteen months old at the time. 

HIS BOYHOOD. 

The childhood of James A. Garfield was passed in almost 
complete isolation from social influences save those which pro- 
ceeded from the home of his mother and that of his uncle 
Boynton. The farms of the Garfields and Boyntons were par- 
tially separated from the settled country around by a large tract 
of forest on one side and a deep rocky ravine on another. For 
many years after Abram Garfield and his half-brother Boynton 
built their log cabins the nearest house was seven miles distant, 
and when the country became well settled the rugged character 
of the surface around their farms kept neighbors at a distance 
too great for the children of the two families to find associates 
among them, save at the district school. The district school- 
house stood upon a corner of the Garfield farm, and it was there, 
when nearly four years old, that James conned his " Noah 
Webster's Spelling Book," and learned his " a-b ab's." 

James was put to farm work as soon as he was big enough to 
be of any use. The family was very poor, and the mother 
often worked in the fields with the boys. She spun the yarn 
and wove the cloth for the children's clothes and her own, 
sewed for the neighbors, knit stockings, cooked the simple 
meals for the household in the big fireplace, over which hung 
an iron crane for the pot-hooks, helped plant and hoe the corn 
and gather the hay crop, and even assisted the oldest boy to 
clear and fence land. In the midst of this toilsome life the 
brave little woman found time to instil into the minds of her 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 399 

children the religious and moral maxims of her New England 
ancestry. Every day she read four chapters of the Bible — a 
practice she keeps up to this time, and has never interrupted for 
a single day save when lying upon a sick-bed. The children 
lived in an atmosphere of religious thought and discussion. 
Uncle Boynton, who was a second father to the Garfield family, 
flavored all his talk with Bible quotations. He carried a Testa- 
ment in his pocket wherever he went, and would sit on his 
plough-beam at the end of a furrow to take it out and read a 
chapter. It was a time of religious ferment in Northern Ohio. 
New sects filled the air with their doctrinal cries. The Disci- 
ples, a sect founded by the preaching of Alexander Campbell, 
an eloquent and devout man of Scotch descent, who ranged 
over Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and Pennsylvania, from his home 
at Bethany in the " Pan Handle," had made great progress. 
They assailed all creeds as made by men, and declared the Bible 
to be the only rule of life. Attacking all the older denomina- 
tions, they were vigorously attacked in turn. James's mind 
was filled at an early day with the controversies this new sect 
excited. The guests at his mother's house were mostly travel- 
ling preachers, and the talk of the neighborhood, when not 
about the crops and farm labors, was usually on religious topics. 
At the district school James was known as a fighting boy. 
He found that the larger boys were disposed to* insult and 
abuse a little fellow who had no father or big brother to protect 
him, and he resented such imposition with all the force of a 
sensitive nature backed by a hot temper, great physical cour- 
age, and a strength unusual for his age. His big brother 
Thomas had finished his schooling and was much away from 
home, working by the day or month to earn money for the 
support of the family. Many stories are told in Orange of the 
pluck shown by the future major-general in his encounters with 
the rough country lads in dt^fence of his boyish rights and 
honor. They say he never began a fight and never cherished 
malice, but when enraged by taunts or insults would attack boys 
of twice his size with the fury and tenacity of a bull-dog. A 
few years after the death of his father the house was enlarged 
in a curious fashion. The log school-house was abandoned for 
a new frame building, and the old structure was bought by 
Thomas Garfield for a trifle, and he and James, with the help 
of the Boynton boys, pulled it down and put it up again on a 



400 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

site a few steps in the rear of the Garfield dwelling. Thus the 
family had two rooms and were tolerably comfortable, as far as 
household accommodations were concerned. In these two log 
buildings they lived until James was fourteen, when the boys 
built a small frame house for their mother. It was painted red 
and had three rooms below and two under the roof. 

FARM BOY AND BOATMAN. 

James often got employment in the haying and harvesting 
season from the farmers of Orange. When he was sixteen he 
walked ten miles, to Aurora, in company with a boy older than 
himself, looking for work. They offered their services to a 
farmer who had a good deal of hay to cut. " What wages do 
you expect ?" asked the man. " Man's wages — a dollar a day," 
replied young Gaifield. The farmer thought they were not old 
enough to earn full wages. " Then let us mow that field by 
the acre," said the young man. The farmer agreed; the cus- 
tomary price per acre was 50 cents. By 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon the hay was down and the boys earned a dollar apiece. 
Then the farmer engaged them for a fortnight. James's first 
wages were earned from a merchant who had an ashery where 
he leached ashes and made black salts, which were shipped by 
lake and canal to New York. He got $9 a month and his 
board, and stuck to the business for two months, at the end of 
which his hair below his cap was bleached and colored by 
the fumes until it assumed a lively red hue. Afterward he went 
to Newburg, where an uncle lived, who had a piece of oak- 
timbered land to clear on the edge of Independence township. 
James agreed to chop 100 cords of wood at 50 cents a cord. 
He boarded with one of his sisters, who was married and lived 
near by. He was a good chopper, and easily cut two cords a 
day. 

The view of Lake Erie and the passing sails stirred afresh in 
him the ambition to be a sailor, which almost every sturdy 
farmer's boy feels who reads tales of sea-fights and adventures 
in the quiet monotony of his inland home. He resolved to ship 
on one of the lake craft, and with this purpose he walked to 
Cleveland and boarded a schooner lying at the wharf, and told 
the captain he wanted to hire out as a sailor. The captain, a 
brutal, drunken fellow, was amazed at the impudence of the 
green country lad, and answered him with a torrent of profan- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 401 

ity. Escaping as quickly as he could from the vessel, the lad 
walked up the river along the docks. Soon he heard himself 
called by name from the deck of a canal boat, and, turning 
around, recognized a cousin, Amos Letcher, who told him he 
commanded the craft, and proposed to engage him to drive 
horses on the tow-path. The would-be sailor thought that 
here was a chance to learn something of navigation in a humble 
way, preparatory to renewing his application for service on the 
lakes. He accepted the offer and the wages of " ten dollars a 
month and found," and next day the boat started for Pittsburg 
with a cargo of copper ore. It was called the Evening Star, 
was open amidships, and had a cabin at the bow for the horses 
and one at the stern for the men. On the return trip the Even- 
ing Star stopped at Brier Hill on the Mahoning River, and 
loaded with coal at the mines of David Tod, afterward Governor 
of Ohio, and a warm friend of Garfield the major-general and 
member of Congress. The boating episode in Garfield's life 
lasted through the season of 1848. After the first trip to Pitts- 
burg the boat went back and forth between Cleveland and 
Brier Hill with cargoes of coal and iron. 

Late in the fall the young driver, who had risen to the post 
of steersman, was seized with a violent attack of ague, which 
kept him at home all winter and in bed most of the time. All 
his summer's earnings went for doctor's bills and medicines. 
When he recovered, his mother, who had never approved of his 
canal adventure, dissuaded him from carrying out his project of 
shif)ping on the lakes. To master one passion she stimulated 
another — that of study. She brought to her help the district 
school-teacher, an excellent, thoughtful man named Samuel D. 
Bates, who fired the boy's mind with a desire for a good edu- 
cation, and doubtless changed the course of his life. He went 
to the Geauga Academy, at Chester, a village a few miles dis- 
tant, and began a new career. 

He repulsed all efforts to persuade him to join the church, 
and when pressed hard stayed away from meetings for several 
Sundays. Apparently he wanted full freedom to reach con- 
clusions about religion by his own mental processes. It was 
not until he was eighteen and had been two terms at the Ches- 
ter school that he joined his uncle's congregation. He was 
baptized in March, 1850, in a little stream putting into the 
Chagrin River. His conversion was accomplished by a quiet 



402 ' ^^^ ASSASSINATION OF 

sweet-tempered man, who held a series of meetings in the 
school-house near the Garfield homestead, and told in the plain- 
est and most straightforward manner the story of the Gospel. 
A previous perusal of Pollok's " Course of Time" had made a 
deep impression upon him and turned his thoughts to religious 
subjects. 

FIGHT FOR AN EDUCATION. 

The country schoolmaster who helped Mrs. Garfield dissuade 
her son from going as a sailor on the lakes in the spring of 
1849 was a student at Geauga Academy, a Free Will Baptist 
institution in the village of (^hester, ten miles away from the 
home of the Garfields in Orange. The argument which finally 
turned the robust lad from his cherished plan of adventure was 
advanced by his mother, and was that, if he fitted himself for 
teaching by a few terms in school, he could teach winters and 
sail summers, and thus have employment the year round. In the 
EQonth of March, with $17 in his pocket, got together by his 
mother and his brother Thomas, James went to Chester with 
his cousins, William and Henry Boynton. The boys took a 
stock of provisions along, and rented a room with two beds and 
a cook-stove in an old, unpainted house, where lived a poor 
widow woman, who undertook to prepare their meals and do 
their washing for an absurdly small sum. The academy was a 
two-story building, and the school, with about a hundred pupils 
of both sexes, drawn from the farming country around Chester, 
was in a flourishing condition. It had a library of perhaps one 
hundred and fifty volumes — more books than young Garfield 
had ever seen before. A venerable gentleman named Daniel 
Branch was principal of the school, and his wife was his chief 
assistant. At the end of the term of twelve weeks he went 
liome to Orange, helped his brother build a barn for their 
mother, and then worked for day wages at haying and harvest- 
ing. With the money he earned he paid off some arrears of 
doctors' bills left from his long illness. When he returned to 
Chester in the fall he had one silver sixpence in his pocket. 
Going to church next day he dropped the sixpence in the 
contribution-box. 

He had made an arrangement with Homan Woodworth, a 
carpenter in the village, to live at his house and have lodging, 
board, washing, fuel and light for $1.06 a week, and this sum 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 403 

he expected to earn by helping the carpenter on Saturdays and 
at odd hours on school days. The carpenter was building a two- 
story house, and James's first work was to get out siding at 2 
cents a board. The first Saturday he planed fifty-one boards, 
and so earned $1.02, the most money he had ever got for a 
day's work. That term he paid his way, bought a few books, 
and returned home with $8 in his pocket. He now thought 
himself competent to teach a country school, but in two days' 
tramping through Cuyahoga County failed to find employment. 
Some schools had already engaged teachers, and where there 
was still a vacancy the trustees thought him too young. He 
returned home completely discouraged and greatly humiliated 
by the rebuffs he had met with. He made a resolution that he 
would never again ask for a position of any sort, and the reso- 
lution was kept, for every public place he has since had has come 
to him unsought. 

Next morning, while still in the depths of despondency, he 
heard a man call to his mother from the road, " Widow Gaf- 
field " (a local corruption of the name Garfield), " where's your 
boy Jim ? I wonder if he wouldn't like to teach our school at 
the Ledge." James went out and found a neighbor from a dis- 
trict a mile away, where the school had been broken up for two 
winters by the rowdyism of the big boys. He said he would 
like to try the school, but before deciding must consult his 
uncle, Amos Boynton. That evening there was a family coun- 
cil. Uncle Amos pondered over the matter, and finally said, 
" You go and try it. You will go into that school as the boy, 
'Jim GaflSeld ; ' see that you come out as Mr. Garfield, the school- 
master." The young man mastered the school, after a hard 
tussle in the school-room with the bully of the district, who re- 
sented a flogging and tried to brain the teacher with a billet of 
wood. His wages were $12 a month and board, and he " board- 
ed around " in the families of the pupils. 

He had $48 in the spring — more money than had ever been 
in his possession before. Before returning to Chester be joined 
the Disciples' Church, and his religious experience together 
with his new interest in teaching, caused him to abandon his 
boyhood ambition of becoming a sailor. During his third term 
at the academy he and his cousin Henry boarded themselves. 
At the end of six weeks the boys found their expenses for food 
had been just 31 cents per week apiece. Henry thought they 



404 "THE A88A88INATI0N OF 

were living too poorly for good health, and they agreed to in- 
crease their outlay to 50 cents a week apiece. James had up to 
this time looked upon a college course as wholly beyond his 
reach, but he met a college graduate who told him he was mis- 
taken in supposing that only the sons of rich parents were able 
to take such a course. A poor boy could get through, he said, 
but it would take a long time and very hard work. The usual 
time was four years in preparatory studies and four in the regu- 
lar college course. James thought that by working part of the 
time to earn money ho could get through in twelve years. He 
then resolved to bend all his energies to the one purpose of get- 
ting a college education. 

From this resolution he never swerved ahair's-breadth. Un- 
til it was accomplished it was the one overmastering idea of his 
life. The tenacity and single-heartedness with which he clung 
to it and the sacrifices he made to realize it unquestionably ex- 
erted a powerful influence in moulding and solidifying his 
character. He began to study Latin, philosophy and botany. 
When the spring term ended he went home again and worked 
through the summer at haying and carpentering. Next fall he 
was back at Chester for a fourth term, and in the winter he got 
a village school to teach in Warrensville, at $16 a month and 
board. 

Returning to Orange in the summer, he decided to go on 
with his education at a new school just established by the 
Disciples at Hiram, Portage County, a petty cross-roads village, 
twelve miles from a town and a railroad. His religious feeling 
naturally called him to the young institution of his own denom- 
ination. In August, 1851, he arrived at Hiram, and found a 
plain brick building standing in the midst of a corn-field, with 
perhaps a dozen farm-houses near enough for boarding places 
for the students. He lived in a room with four other pupils, 
studied harder than ever, having now his college project fully 
anchored in his mind, got through his six books of Caesar that 
term,^nd made good progress in Greek. In the winter he 
again taught school at Warrensville, and earned $18 a month. 
Next spring he was back at Hiram and during the summer va- 
cation he helped build a house in the village, planing all the 
siding and shingling the roof. 

At the beginning of his second year at Hiram, Garfield was 
made a tutor in place of one of the teachers who fell ill, and 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. ^ 405 

thenceforward he taught and studied at the same time, working 
tremendously to fit himself for college. His future wife recited 
to him two years in Greek, and when he went to college she 
went to teach in the Cleveland schools, and to wait patiently 
the realization of their hopes. When he went to Hiram he had 
studied Latin only six weeks and had just begun Greek, and 
was therefore just in a condition to fairly begin the four years' 
preparatory course ordinarily taken by students before entering 
college in the freshman class. Yet in three years' time he fitted 
himself to enter the junior class, two years further along, and at 
the same time earned his own living, thus crowding six years' 
study into three, and teaching for his support at the same time. 
To accomplish this, he shut the whole world out from his mind 
save that little portion of it within the range of his studies, 
knowing nothing of politics or the news of the day, reading 
no light literature, and engaging in no social recreations that 
took his time from his books. 

In the spring of 1854 he wrote to the presidents of Yale, 
Brown and Williams, telling what books he had studied, and 
asked what class he could enter if he passed a satisfactory ex- 
amination in them. All three wrote that he could enter the 
junior year. President Hopkins, of Williams, added this sen- 
tence to the business part of his letter, " If you come here, we 
shall do what we can for you." This seemed like a kindly hand 
held out, and it decided him to go to Williams. He had been 
urged to go to the Disciples' College in Bethany, Virginia, 
founded by Alexander Campbell, but with a wisdom hardly to 
be expected in a country lad devotedly attached to the sect rep- 
resented by the Bethany school, he sought the wider culture 
and broader opportunities of a New England college. 

LIFE AT COLLEGE. 

When Garfield reached Williams College, in June, 1854, he 
had about $300 which he had saved while teaching in the Hiram 
school. With this money he hoped to manage to get through 
a year. A few weeks remained of the closing school year, and 
he attended the recitations of the sophomore class in order to 
get familiar with the methods of the professors before testing 
his ability to pass the examinations for the junior year. The 
examination for entering the junior class was passed without 
trouble. Although self-taught, his knowledge of the bgoks pre- 



406 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

scribed was thorough. A long summer vacation followed his 
examination, and this time he employed in the college library, 
the first large collection of books he had ever seen. His absorp- 
tion in the double work of teaching and fitting himself for col- 
lege had hitherto left him little time for general reading, and 
the library opened a new world of profit and dehght. He had 
never read a line of Shakespeare, save a few extracts in the 
school reading-books. From the whole range of fiction 
he had voluntarily shut himself off at eighteen, when 
he joined the Church, having serious views of the busi- 
ness of life, and imbibing the notion, then almost uni- 
versal among religious people in the country districts of the 
West, that novel-reading was a waste of time, and therefore a 
sinful, worldly sort of intellectual amusement. When turned 
loose in the college library, with weeks of leisure to range at will 
over its shelves, he began with Shakespeare, which he read 
through from cover to cover. Then he went to English 
history and poetry. Of the poets Tennyson pleased him best, 
which is not to be wondered at, for the influence of the laureate 
was then at its height. 

Garfield studied Latin and Greek, and took up German as an 
elective study. One year at college completed his classical stud- 
ies, on which he was far advanced before he came to Williams. 
German he carried on successfully until he could read Goethe 
and Schiller readily, and acquired considerable fluency in the 
conversational use of the language. He entered with zeal into 
the literary work of the school, joined the Philologian Society, 
was a vigorous debater, and in his last year was one of the edi- 
tors of The Williams Quarterly^ a college periodical of a high 
order of merit. 

At the end of the fall term of 1854 came a winter vacation of 
two months, which Garfield employed in teaching a writing- 
school at North Pownal, Vermont. He wrote a bold, handsome, 
legible hand, not at all like that in vogue nowadays in the sys- 
tems taught in the commercial colleges, but a hand that was 
strongly individual, and was the envy of the boys and girls who 
tried to imitate it in his Vermont class. It is said that a year or 
two before Garfield taught his writing-class in the North Pow- 
nal school-house, Chester A. Arthur taught the district school 
in the same building. 

At the end of the college year, in June, Garfield went back 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 407 

to Ohio and visited liis mother, who was then living with a 
daughter in Solon. His money was exhausted, and he had to 
adopt one of two plans, either to borrow enough to take him 
through to graduation at the end of the next year, or to go to 
teaching in order to earn the money, and thus break the con- 
tinuity of his college course. He then hit upon the plan of 
insuring his life, and assigning the policy as security for a loan. 
His brother Thomas undertook to furnish the funds in instal- 
ments, but becoming embarrassed was not able to do so, and a 
neighbor. Dr. Robinson, assumed the obligation. Garfield gave 
his notes for the loan, and regarded the transaction as on a fair 
business basis, knowing that if he lived he would repay the 
money, and that if he died his creditor would be secure. 

His second winter vacation Garfield spent in Poestenkill, New 
York, a country neighborhood about six miles from Troy, where 
a Disciple minister from Ohio, named Streeter, was preaching, 
and where he soon organized a writing-school to employ his 
time and bring him in a little money. Occasionally Garfield 
preached in his friend's church. During a visit to Troy he 
became acquainted with the teachers and directors of the public 
schools of that city, and was one day surprised by the offer of a 
position in them at a salary far beyond his expectations of what 
he could earn after his graduation and return to Ohio. It was 
the turning-point in his life. If he accepted he could soon pay 
his debts, marry the girl to whom he was engaged, and live a life 
of comfort in an attractive Eastern city ; but he could not finish 
his college course, and he would have to sever the ties with his 
friends in Ohio and with the struggling school at Hiram, to 
which he was deeply attached. Had he taken the position his 
whole subsequent career would no doubt have been different. 

During his last term at Williams he made his first political 
speech — an address before a meeting gathered in one of the 
class-rooms to support the nomination of John 0. Fremont. 
Although he had passed his majority nearly four years before, 
he had never voted. The old parties did not interest him ; he 
believed them both corrupted with the sin of slavery ; but when 
a new party arose to combat the designs of the slave power it 
enlisted his earnest sympathies. His mind was free from all 
bias concerning the parties and statesmen of the past, and he 
could equally admire Clay or Jackson, Webster or Benton. He 
is the first man nominated for the Presidency whose political 



408 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

convictions and activities began with the birth of the Repub- 
lican party. He was graduated August, 1856, with a class 
honor established by President Hopkins and highly esteemed in 
the college — that of metaphysics — reading an essay on "The 
Seen and the Unseen." 

TEACHER AND PREACHER. 

Before Garfield graduated at Williams College the trustees of 
the Hiram Eclectic Institute elected him teacher of ancient lan- 
guages, and the post was ready for him as soon as he got back 
to Ohio. It was not a professorship, because the institution was 
not a college, and did not become one until 1869, long after his 
connection with it ceased. A year later, when only twenty-six 
years old, he was placed at the head of the school with the title 
of Chairman of the Board of Instruction, the Board waiting 
another year before conferring upon him the full honors of the 
Principalship. He continued to hold the position of Principal 
until he went into the army in 1861. He was nominal Princi- 
pal two years longer, the Board hoping he would return and 
manage the school after the war ended. When he went to 
Congress he was made Advising Principal and Lecturer, and his 
name was borne upon the catalogues in this capacity until 1864. 

Before he went to college, Garfield had begun to preach a 
little in the country churches around Hiram, and when he 
returned he began to fill the pulpit in the Disciples' Church in 
Hiram with considerable regularity. In his denomination no 
ordination is required to become a minister. Any brother 
having the ability to discourse on religious topics to a congre- 
gation is welcomed to the pulpit. His fame as a lay preacher 
extended throughout the counties of Portage, Summit, Trumbull 
and Geauga, and he was often invited to preach in the towns of 
that region. 

One of his former pupils says of his peculiarities as a teacher : 

" No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield always called 
us by our first names, and kept himself on the most familiar 
terms with all. He played with us freely, scuffled with us some- 
times, talked with us in walking to and fro, and we treated him 
out of the class-room just about as we did one another. Yet he 
was a most strict disciplinarian, and enforced the rules like a 
martinet. He combined an aJBfectionate and confiding manner 
with respect for order in a most successful manner. If he wanted 




MRS. JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 409 

to speak to a pupil, either for reproof or approbation, he would 
generally manage to get one arm around him and draw him close 
up to him. He had a peculiar way of shaking hands, too, 
giving a twist to your arm and drawing you right up to him. 
This sympathetic manner has helped him to advancement. 
When I was janitor he used sometimes to stop me and ask my 
opinion about this and that, as if seriously advising with me. 
I can see that my opinion could not have been of any value, and 
that he probably asked me partly to increase my self-respect 
and partly to show me that he felt an interest in me. I 
certainly was his friend all the firmer for it." 

ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 

He cast his first vote in 1856 for John C. Fremont, his own 
political career thus beginning with the first national campaign 
of the Republican party. Before leaving Williams College he 
made a speech to the students on the question of slavery in the 
Territories, and during the fall, after he returned to Hiram, he 
spoke in the Disciples Church, in reply to Alphonso Hart, of 
Ravenna ,who had delivered a Democratic address there a few 
nights before. Then a joint debate was arranged at Garretsville, 
between Hart and Garfield which attracted a good deal of local 
attention and is well remembered to this day by the older farmers 
of Portage County. This debate launched Garfield as a political 
speaker. His reputation as a stump orator widened steadily 
from that debate until it embraced first the State of Ohio and 
then the nation. 

A year after he took charge of the Hiram school Garfield 
married Lucretia Rudolph, his fellow-student and pupil in 
former years, to whom he had engaged himself before he 
went to Williams College. Their love had stood the test of 
time and absence, and now that he had made his place in the 
world and felt that he could support a family, there was noth- 
ing to hinder its consummation. The marriage took place at 
the house of the bride's parents, November 11, 1858. 

His labors upon the stump, beginning in 1856, with perhaps 
a score of speeches for Fremont and Dayton in country school- 
houses and town-halls in the region around Hiram, were extended 
in 1857 and 1858 over a wider area of territory, and in 1859 
he began to speak at county mass-meetings. His first ap- 
pearance at a big meeting was at Akron, where his name was 
18 



410 THE ASSASSINATION Q-ff 

put upon the bills below that of Salmon P. Cbase. There the 
young teacher met for the first time the great anti-slavery leader 
whom he had honored and admired from his boyhood, and a 
friendship sprang up between the two which endured until 
Chase's death. 

In January, 1860, he went to Columbus, and took his seat in 
the State Senate. The campaign of 1860 made him widely 
known throughout the State. He found time to read law 
assiduously while he was in the Legislature. In 1858 he made 
up his mind that his future career should be at the bar. He 
therefore entered his name as a law student in the office of 
Williamson and Riddle, in Cleveland, and got from Mr. Riddle 
a list of books to be studied. In 1861 he applied to the Su- 
preme Court in Columbus for admission to the bar, was ex- 
amined by a committee composed of Thomas M. Key, a 
distinguished lawyer of Cincinnati, and Robert Harrison, after- 
wards a member of the Supreme Court Commission, and ad- 
mitted. His intention was to open an office in Cleveland, but 
the breaking out of the war changed his plans. 

HIS RECORD IN THE WAR. 

The most complete and comprehensive account of General 
Garfield's military career is found in Whitelaw Reid's " Ohio 
in the War," which was written many years before Garfield's 
nomination for the Presidency. When the time came, says this 
account, for appointing the officers for the Ohio troops, the 
Legislature was still in session. Garfield at once avowed his 
intention of entering the service. He was offered the lieutenant- 
colonelcy of the 42 d Ohio Regiment, biit it was not until the 14th 
of December that orders for the field were received. The regi- 
ment was then sent to Calettsburg, Ky., and Garfield, then made 
colonel, was directed to report in person to General Buell. On 
the I7th of December he assigned Colonel Garfield to the com^- 
mand of the iVth Brigade, and ordered him to drive the Rebel 
forces under Humphrey Marshall out of Sandy Valley, in East- 
ern Kentucky. Up to this date no active operations had been 
attempted in the great department that lay south of the Ohio 
River. The spell of Bull Run still hung over our armies. Save 
the campaigns in Western Virginia, and the unfortunate attack 
by General Grant at Belmont, not a single engagement had 
occurred over all the region between the AUeghanies and the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD, 411 

Mississippi. General Buell was preparing to advance upon tlie 
Rebel position at Bowling Green, when he suddenly found him- 
self hampered by two co-operating forces skilfully planted 
within striking distance of his flank. General Zollicoffer was 
advancing from Cumberland Gap towards Mill Spring ; and 
Humphrey Marshall, moving down the Sandy Valley, was threat- 
ening to overrun Eastern Kentucky. Till these could be driven 
back, an advance upon Bowling Green would be perilous, if not 
actually impossible. To General George H. Thomas, then just 
raised from his colonelcy of regulars to a brigadier-generalship 
of volunteers, was committed the task of repulsing Zollicoffer ; 
to the untried colonel of the raw 42d Ohio, the task of repulsing 
Humphrey Marshall, and on their success the whole army of 
the department waited. 

Colonel Garfield thus found himself, before he had ever seen 
a gun fired in action, in command of four regiments of infantry, 
and some eight companies of cavalry, charged with the work of 
driving out of his native State the officer reputed the ablest of 
those not educated to war whom Kentucky had given to the 
Rebellion. Marshall had under his command nearly 5000 men, 
stationed at the village of Paintville, sixty miles up the Sandy 
Valley. He was expected by the Rebel authorities to advance 
towards Lexington, unite with Zollicoffer, and establish the au- 
thority of the Provisional Government at the State capital. 
These hopes were fed by the recollection of his great intellectual 
abilities, and the soldierly reputation he had borne ever since 
he led the famous charge of the Kentucky Volunteers at Buena 
Vista. But Garfield won the day. Marshall hastily abandoned 
his position, fired his camp equipage and stores, and began a 
retreat which was not ended till he had reached Abingdon, Vir- 
ginia. A fresh peril, however, now beset the little force. An 
unusually violent rain-storm broke out, the mountain gorges were 
all flooded, and the Sandy rose to such a height that steam 
boatmen pronounced it impossible to ascend the stream with 
supplies. The troops were almost out of rations, and the rough 
mountainous country was incapable of supporting them. Colonel 
Garfield had gone down the river to its mouth. He ordered a 
small steamer which had been in the Quartermaster's service to 
take on a load of supplies and start up. The captain declared 
it was impossible. Efforts were made to get other vessels, but 
without success. 



412 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

Finally Colonel Garfield ordered the captain and crew onboard, 

stationed a competent army officer on deck to see that the cap- 
tain did his duty, and himself took the wheel. The captain still 
protested that no boat could possibly stem the raging current, 
but Garfield turned her head up the stream and began the peril- 
ous trip. The water in the usually shallow river was sixty feet 
deep, and the tree-tops along the bank were almost submerged. 
The little vessel trembled from stem to stern at every motion 
of the engines ; the waters whirled her about as if she were a 
skiff ; and the utmost speed that steam could give her was three 
miles an hour. When night fell the captain of the boat begged 
permission to tie up. To attempt ascending that fiood in the 
dark, he declared was madness. But Colonel Garfield kept his 
place at the wheel. Finally, in one of the sudden bends of the 
river, they drove, with a full head of steam, into the quicksand 
of the bank. Every effort to back off was in vain. Garfield at 
last ordered a boat to be lowered to take a line across to the 
opposite bank. The crew protested against venturing out in 
the fiood. The Colonel leaped into the boat himself and steered 
it over. The force of the current carried them far below the 
point they sought to reach ; but they finally succeeded in mak- 
ing fast to a tree and rigging a windlass with rails sufficiently 
powerful to draw the vessel off and get her once more afloat. 

It was on Saturday that the boat left the mouth of the Sandy. 
All night, all day Sunday, and all through Sunday night they 
kept up their struggle with the current, Garfield leaving the 
wheel only eight hours out of the whole time, and that during 
the day. By 9 o'clock Monday morning they reached the 
camp, and were received with tumultuous cheering. Garfield 
himself could scarcely escape being borne to headquarters on 
the shoulders of the delighted men. 

These operations in tlie Sandy Valley had been conducted 
with such energy and skill as to receive the special commenda- 
tion of the commanding general and of the government. Gen- 
eral Buell had been moved to words of unwonted praise. The 
War Department had conferred the grade of brigadier-general, 
the commission bearing the date of the battle of Middle Creek. 
And the country, without understanding very well the details of 
the campaign — of which, indeed, no satisfactory account was 
published at the time — fully appreciated the satisfactory result. 
The discomfiture of Humphrey Marshall was a source of special 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 413 

cliagrin to the Rebel sympathizers of Kentucky, and of amaze- 
ment and admiration throughout the loyal West, and Garfield 
took rank in the public estimation among the most promising of 
the younger volunteer generals. 

On his arrival at Louisville, from the Sandy Valley, General 
Garfield found that the Army of the Ohio was already beyond 
Nashville, on its march to Grant's aid at Pittsburg Landing. He 
hastened after it, reported to General Buell about thirty miles 
south of Columbia, and, under his order, at once assumed com- 
mand of the 20th Brigade, then a part of the division under 
General Thomas J. Wood. He reached the field of Pittsburg 
Landing about 1 o'clock on the second day of the battle, and 
participated in its closing scenes. 

The old tendency to fever and ague, contracted in the days of his 
tow-path service on the Ohio Canal, was now aggravated in the 
malarious climate of the South, and General Garfield was finally 
sent home on sick-leave about the 1st of August. Near the 
same time the Secretary of War, who seems at this early day to 
have formed the high estimate of Garfield which he continued 
to entertain throughout the war, sent orders to him to proceed 
to Cumberland Gap and relieve General George W. Morgan of 
his command. But when they were received he was too ill to 
leave his bed. A month later the Secretary ordered him to re- 
port in person at Washington as soon as his health would per- 
mit. On his arrival it was found that the estimate placed on 
his knowledge of law, his judgment and his loyalty, had led 
to his selection as one of the first members of the court-martial 
for the noted trial of Fitz John Porter. In the duties connected 
with this detail most of the autumn was consumed. Early in 
January he was ordered out to General Rosecrans. From the 
day of his appointment. General Garfield became the intimate 
associate and confidential adviser of his chief. But he did not 
occupy so commanding a station as to be able to put restraint 
upon him. From the 4th of January to the 24th of June, Gen- 
eral Rosecrans lay at Murfreesboro. Through five months o'f 
this delay General Garfield was with him. The War Depart- 
ment demanded an advance, and when the spring opened urged it 
with unusual vehemence. Finally, General Rosecrans formal-}' 
asked his corps, division and cavalry generals as to the propriety 
of a movement. With singular unanimity, though for diverse 
reasons, they opposed it. Out of seventeen generals not one was 



414 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

in favor of an immediate advance, and not one was even will- 
ing to put himself on record as in favor of an early advance. 
General Garfield collated the seventeen letters sent in from the 
generals in reply to the questions of their commander, and fairly 
reported their substance, coupled with a cogent argument 
against them and in favor of an immediate movement. This 
report we venture to pronounce the ablest military document 
known to have been submitted by a Chief of Staff to his supe- 
rior during the war. General Garfield stood absolutely alone, 
every general commanding troops having, as we have seen, either 
openly opposed or failed to approve an advance. But his 
statements were so clear and his arguments so forcible that he 
carried conviction. 

Twelve days after the reception of this report the army 
moved — to the great dissatisfaction of its leading generals. One 
of the three corps commanders, Major-General Thomas L. 
Crittenden, approached the Chief of Staff at the headquarters 
on the morning of the advance : " It is understood, sir," he said, 
" by the general officers of the army that this movement is your 
work. I wish you to understand that it is a rash and fatal move, 
for which you will be held responsible." This rash and fatal 
move was the TuUahoma campaign — a campaign perfect in its 
conception, excellent in its general execution, and only hindered 
from resulting in the complete destruction of the opposing army 
by the delay which had too long postponed its commencement. 
It might even yet have destroyed Bragg but for the terrible sea- 
son of rains which set in on the morning of the advance and 
continued uninterruptedly for the greater part of a month. 
With a week's earlier start it would have ended the career of 
Bragg's army in the war. 

At last came the battle of Chickaraauga. Such by this time 
had come to be Garfield's influence that he was nearly always 
consulted and often followed. He wrote every order issued that 
day — one only excepted. This he did rarely as an amanuen- 
sis, but rather on the suggestions of his own judgment, after- 
ward submitting what he had prepared to Rosecrans for ap- 
proval or change. The one order which he did not write was the 
fatal order to Wood which lost the battle. The meaning was 
correct; the words, however, did not clearly represent what 
Rosecrans meant, aiid the division commander in question so in- 
terpreted them as to destroy the right wing. The General com- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 415 

manding and his Chief of Staff were caught in the tide of dis- 
aster and born back towards Chattanooga. The Chief of Staff 
was sent to communicate with Thomas, while the General pro- 
ceeded to prepare for the reception of the routed army. Such 
at least were the statements of the reports, and, in a technical 
sense, they were true. It should never be forgotten, however, 
in Garfield's praise, that it was on his own earnest representa- 
tions that he was sent — that, in fact, he rather procured per- 
mission to go to Thomas and so back into the battle, than 
received orders to do so. He refused to believe that Thomas 
was routed or the battle lost. He found the road environed 
with dangers ; some of his escort were killed, and they all nar- 
rowly escaped death or capture. But he bore to Thomas the 
first news that officer had received of the disaster on the right, 
and gave the information on which he was able to extricate his 
command. At 7 o'clock that evening, under the personal super- 
vison of General Gordon Granger and himself, a shotted salute 
from a battery of six Napoleon guns was fired into the woods after 
the last of the retreating assailants. They were the last shots of 
the battle of Chickamauga, and what was left of the Union 
Army was master of the field. For the time the enemy 
evidently regarded himself as repulsed ; and Garfield said that 
night, and has always since maintained, that there was no neces- 
sity for the immediate retreat on Rossville. 

SERVICE IN CONGRESS. 

Practically this was the close of General Garfield's military 
career. A year before, while he was absent in the army, and 
without any solicitation on his part, he had been elected to Con- 
gress from the old Giddings district, in which he resided. He 
was now, after a few weeks' service with Rosecrans at Chatta- 
nooga, sent on to Washington as the bearer of dispatches. He 
there learned of his promotion to a major-generalship of volun- 
teers, "for gallant and meritorious conduct at the battle of 
Chickamauga." He might have retained this position in the 
army ; and the military capacity he had displayed, the high fa- 
vor in which he was held by the government, and the certainty 
of his assignment to important commands, seemed to augur a 
brilliant future. He was a poor man, too, and the major-gene 
ral's salary was more than double that of the Congressman. 
But on mature reflection he decided that the circumstances un 



416 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

der wliicli tlie people had elected him to Congress bound him 
up to an effort to obey their wishes. He was furthermore 
urged to enter Congress by the officers of the army, who looked 
to him for aid in procuring such military legislation as the country 
and the army required. Under the belief that the path of use- 
fulness to the country lay in the direction in which his constitu- 
ents pointed, he sacrificed what seemed to be his personal inter- 
ests, and on the 5th of December, 1863, resigned his commission, 
after nearly three years' service. 

General Garfield continued his military service up to the day 
of the meeting of Congress. Even then he seriously thought of 
resigning his position as a Representative rather than his major- 
general's commission, and would have done so had not Lincoln 
urged him to enter Congress. He has often expressed regret 
that he did not fight the war through. Had he done so he would 
no doubt have ranked at its close among the foremost of the 
victorious generals of the Republic, for he displayed in his San- 
dy Valley campaign and at the battle of Chickamauga the highest 
qualities of generalship. A brilliant opening awaited him in the 
Army of the Cumberland. General Thomas wanted him to take 
command of a corps. President Lincoln told him he greatly 
needed the influence in the House of one who had had practical 
military experience to push through the needed war legislation. 
He yielded, and on the 5th of December, 1863, gave up his gen- 
eralship and took his seat in the House. 

He was appointed on the Military Committee, under the chair- 
manship of General Schenck, and was of great service in carry- 
ing through the measures which recruited the armies during the 
closing years of the war. 

In the summer of 1864 a breach occurred between the Presi- 
dent and some of the most radical of the Republican orders in 
Congress over the question of the reconstruction of the States of 
Arkansas and Louisiana. Congress passed a bill providing for 
the organization of loyal governments within the Union lines of 
these States, but Lincoln vetoed it and appointed military gov- 
ernors. Senator Ben Wade, of Ohio, and Representative Henry 
Winter Davis, of Maryland, united in a letter to the New York 
Tribune, sharply criticising the President for defeating the will 
of Congress. This letter became known as the Wade-Davis 
manifesto, and created a great sensation in political circles. The 
story got about in the XlXth District that General Garfield had 



PBmiDENT GARFIELD; 417 

expressed sympathy with the position of Wade and Davis. His 
constituents condemned the document, and were strongly dis- 
posed to set him aside and nominate another man for Congress. 
When the convention met the feeling against Garfield was so 
pronounced that he regarded his renomination as hopeless. He 
was called upon to explain his course. He went upon the plat- 
form, and everybody expected something in the nature of an 
apology, but he boldly defended his position, approved the mani- 
festo, justified Wade, and said he had nothing to retract and 
could not change his honest comdctions for the sake of a seat 
in Congress. He had great respect, he said, for the opinions of 
his constituents, but greater regard for his own. If he could serve 
them as an independent representative, acting on his own judg- 
ment and conscience, he would be glad to do so, but if not, he did 
not want their nomination ; he would prefer to be an independent 
private citizen. Probably no man ever talked in that way before 
or since to a body of men who held his political fate in their 
hands. Leaving the platform, he strode out of the hall and 
down the stairs, supposing that he had effectually cut his own 
throat. Scarcely had he disappeared when one of the youngest 
delegates sprang up and said : " The man who has the courage 
to face a convention like that deserves a nomination. I move 
that General Garfield be nominated by acclamation." The mo- 
tion was carried with a shout that reached the ears of the Con- 
gressman and arrested him on the sidewalk as he was returning 
to the hotel. He was re-elected by a majority of over 12,000. 
At the beginning of the XXXIXth Congress, in December, 
1865, General Garfield asked Speaker Colfax to transfer him 
from the Committee on Military Affairs to that of Ways and 
Means, saying that in the near future financial questions would 
occupy the attention of the country, and he desired to be in a 
position to study them carefully in advance. The Military 
Committee, having on its hands the work of reorganizing the 
regular army on a peace basis, was the more important of the 
two at the time, but Garfield foresaw the storm of agitation and 
delusion concerning the debt and the currency which was soon 
to break upon the country, and wisely prepared to meet it. He 
began a long and severe course of study, ransacking the Con- 
gressional Library for works that threw light on the experience 
of other countries, and that gave the ideas of the thinkers and 
statesmen of all nations on these subjects. His membership of 
18* 



418 TSE ASSASSWATiON OF 

the Ways and Means also opened up a line of congenial work in 
connection with the tarijBE and the system of internal revenue 
taxation. These two sources of income, gauged to the needs of 
the war, had to be changed to conform to the conditions of 
peace. In the course of this work and of the investigations 
which accompanied it, he reached a conclusion upon the tariff 
question from which he never departed — namely, that whatever 
may be the truth or falsity of abstract theories about free trade, 
the interests of the United States require a moderate protective 
system. In March, 1866, he made his first speech on the cur- 
rency question, and took strong ground in favor of a speedy re- 
turn to specie payments. 

In the summer of 1867 General Garfield went to Europe, and 
made a rapid tour through Great Britain and the Continent. 
His health failed under the pressure of too much brain-work, and 
he took this means of recuperating. This was the only year 
since he entered public life that he had been absent from a po- 
litical campaign. He returned late m the fall to find that Pen- 
dletonism — a demand for the payment of the bonded debt in 
irredeemable greenback notes — had run rampant in Ohio, and 
had taken possession of the Republican party as well as of the 
Democracy. A reception was given him at Jefferson, in his dis- 
trict, which assumed the form of a public meeting. He was 
told that he had better say nothing about his financial views, for 
his constituents had made up their minds that the bonds ought 
to be redeemed in greenbacks. He made a speech in which he 
told his friends plainly that they were deluded, that there could 
be no honest money not redeemable in coin, and no honest pay- 
ment of the debt c uld be made save in coin, and that as long 
as he was their representative he should stand on that ground, 
whatever might be their views. The speech produced a deep 
impression throughout the district. The next June the Nation- 
al Republican Convention took sound ground upon the debt and 
currency questions, and most Republicans who had been carried 
away by Pendletonism grew ashamed of their folly. 

A LEADER IN FINANCE. 

In the XLth Congress General Garfield was put back upon 
the Military Committee and made its chairman. In 1868 he 
was renominated without opposition, and chosen a fourth time 
to represent his district. On the organization of the XLIst 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 419 

Congress, in December, 1869, General Garfield was made chair- 
man of the Committee on Banking and Currency. The infla- 
tion movement was rapidly gathering force in the country, and 
men of both parties in Congress w^ere swept into it by fear of 
their constituents. A cry was set up that times were getting 
hard because there was not money enough to do the business of 
the people. The West, particularly, clamored for more curren- 
cy. General Garfield led the opposition to inflation. Finally, 
after a long fight in his committee with the men who wanted to 
throw out a flood of new greenbacks, he brought in and carried 
through Congress a bill allowing an addition of $54,000,000 to 
the national-bank circulation, and giving preference in the as- 
signment of the new issue to the States which had less than 
their quota of the old circulation. This measure was a stunning 
blow to the inflation movement- The new issue was not all 
taken up for four years, and during all that time it was a sufiicient 
answer to all demands for " more money " to call attention to 
the fact that there was currency waiting in the Treasury for any 
one who would organize a bank. Soon after the $54,000,000 
was applied for national banking was made perfectly free. The 
New York gold panic came during General Garfield's chairman- 
ship of the Banking Committee. Under orders of the House, 
he conducted with great sagacity and thoroughness an investiga- 
tion which exposed all the secrets of the gold gamblers' plot 
which culminated in " Black Friday." He made a report which 
was a complete history of the affair, and the lesson he drew from 
it was that the only certain remedy against the recurrence of 
such transactions was to be found in the resumption of specie 
payments. He became the recognized leader of the honest- 
money party in the House and the most potent single factor in 
the opposition to inflation. He helped work up the bill to 
strengthen the public credit, which failed to get through during 
the closing days of Johnson's Administration, but was passed as 
soon as Grant came in, and was the first measure to which the 
new President put his signature. This bill committed Congress 
fully to the payment of the public debt in coin, and was the 
fortress around which the financial battle raged in subsequent 
years. 

In December, 1871, General Garfield was placed at the head 
of the important Committee on Appropriations, a position which 
made him the leader of the majority side of the House. With 



420 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

his old habit of doing everything he undertook with the utmost 
thoroughness, he made a laborious study of the whole history of 
appropriation bills in this country and of the English budget 
system. He found a great deal of looseness and confusion in 
the practice concerning estimates and appropriations. Unex- 
pended balances were lying in the Treasury, amounting to 
$130,000,000, beyond the supervision of Congress and subject 
to the drafts of government officers. There were besides what 
were called permanent appropriations, which ran on from year 
to year without any legislation. Garfield instituted a sweeping 
reform. He got laws passed covering all old balances back into 
the Treasury, making all appropriations expire at the end of the 
fiscal year for which made, unless needed to carry out contracts, 
and covering in all appropriations at the end of every second 
year. At the same time he required the Executive Departments 
to itemize their estimates of the money needed to run the Gov- 
ernment much more fully than had been done before, so that 
Congress could know just how every dollar it voted was to be 
expended. The four years of his chairmanship of Appropria- 
tions were years of close and unremitting labor. He worked 
habitually fifteen hours a day. In addition to the demands of 
his own department of legislation, he took part in all the gen- 
eral work of the House, bore a leading part in all the debates 
involving the principles of the Republican party, fought without 
cessation a brave battle against inflation and repudiation, and 
omitted no opportunity to aid in educating the public mind to 
a comprehension of the importance of returning to specie pay- 
ments. 

Five times had General Garfield been chosen to represent the 
old Giddings district without serious opposition in his own par- 
ty, and without a breath of suspicion being cast upon his per- 
sonal integrity. With one exception, all his nominations had 
been made by acclamation. In his sixth canvass, however, a 
vstorm of calumny broke upon him. A concerted attack was 
made upon him for the purpose, if possible, of defeating him in 
the convention, and failing in that, to beat him at the polls. He 
was charged with bribery and corruption in connection with the 
Credit Mobilier affair and the De Golyer pavement contract, and 
with responsibility for the Salary Grab. His people, however, 
resented the slanders, and in the convention he was nominated 
by a majority of three to one. The opposition to him did not 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 421 

bring forward a candidate, but merely cast blank votes. His ene- 
mies then nominated a second Republican candidate. General 
Garfield met the charges against him before the jury of his con- 
stituents. He visited all parts of the district, speaking day and 
night at township meetings. The verdict of the election was a 
complete vindication of his character and actions, and in 1876 
and 1878 his constituents nominated him by acclamation and 
elected him by increased majorities. 

HEADING THE MINORITY. 

The result of the elections of 1874 was to give the Democrats 
control of the House which met in December, 1875. Hitherto 
the legislative work of General Garfield bad been constructive. 
Now he was called upon to defend this work against the as- 
saults of the party which step by step had opposed its accom- 
plishment, and which by the aid of the solid support of the late 
rebel element had gained power in Congress. One of the first 
movements of the Democrats was for universal amnesty. Mr. 
Blaine offered an amendment to their bill, excluding Jefferson 
Davis. Then followed the famous debate about the treatment 
of prisoners of war, opened by Blaine's dashing attack on Hill, 
continued by Hill's reply charging that Confederates had been 
starved in Northern prisons, and closing with Garfield's response 
to Hill. Garfield, by a brilliant stroke of parliamentary strategy, 
forced a Democrat to testify to the falsity of Hill's charge. He 
said that the Elmira, N. Y., district, where was located during 
the war the principal prison for captured rebels, was represented 
in the House by a Democrat. He did not know him, but 
he was willing to rest his case wholly on his testimony. He 
called upon the member from Elmira to inform the House 
whether the good people of his city had permitted the cap- 
tured Confederate soldiers in their midst to suffer for want 
of food. The gentleman thus appealed to rose prompt- 
ly and said that to his knowledge the prisoners had received 
exactly the same rations as the Union soldiers guarding them. 
While this statement was being made a telegraphic dispatch 
was handed to General Garfield. Holding it up, he said, *' The 
lightnings of heaven are aiding me in this controversy." 
The dispatch was from General Elwell, of Cleveland, who had 
been the quartermaster at the Elmira Prison, and who tele- 
graphed that the rations issued to the rebel prisoners were in 



432 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

quantity and quality exactly the same as those issued to their 
guards. Garfield's speech killed the Democrats' bill. They 
withdrew it rather than risk a vote. Mr. Blaine's transfer to 
the Senate soon after this debate left Garfield the recognized 
leader of the Republicans in the House. Mr. Kerr, the Demo- 
cratic Speaker, died in the midst of his term, and in the elec- 
tion for his successor General Garfield received the unanimous 
Republican vote. Soon after, in August, 1876, came the dis- 
pute with Lamar. Lamar was the greatest orator the Democrats 
had, and was selected by them to make a key-note campaign 
speech. It was a sharp attack upon the Republican party, an 
appeal for sympathy for the " oppressed South," and an argu- 
ment to show that peace and prosperity could come only through 
Democratic rule. General Garfield took notes of the speech. 
All his colleagues insisted that he alone was competent to break 
the force of Lamar's masterly effort. This speech is usually ac- 
counted the greatest of his life. It created a furor in the House. 
All business was suspended for ten minutes after he finished, so 
great was the excitement. One hundred thousand copies of the 
speech were subscribed for at once by members who wanted to 
circulate it in their districts, and during the campaign over a 
million copies were distributed. It contributed powerfully to 
the success of the Republican party in the Presidential campaign 
of that year. 

After the election arose the dispute about the count of the 
votes of South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. President 
Grant telegraphed to General Garfield, under date of November 
10, as follows : " I would be gratified if you would go to New 
Orleans and remain until the vote of Louisiana is counted. 
Governor Kellogg requests that reliable witnesses be sent to see 
that the canvass of the vote is a fair one. U. S. Grant." 

Garfield went to "Washington, consulted with the President, 
and then proceeded to New Orleans, in company with John 
Sherman, Stanley Matthews, and a number of other prominent 
Republicans. While on his way back to Washington, returning 
from New Orleans, he was again chosen by the unanimous vote 
of the Republicans of the House as their candidate for Speaker. 

General Garfield opposed the Electoral Commission bill, but 
in spite of his opposition, when the bill passed he was selected 
as a member of the tribunal. The Republicans of the House 
were to have two members. They met in caucus, and were 



PRESTDEl^T QABFIELD. 423 

about to ballot, when Mr. McCreary, of Iowa, said that there 
was one name on whicb they were all agreed, and which need 
not be submitted to the formality of a vote — that of James A. 
Garfield. Garfield was chosen by acclamation. The second 
commissioner was George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, who after- 
ward presided over the Chicago Convention which nominated 
General Garfield for the Presidency. As a member of the Elec- 
toral Commission General Garfield delivered two opinions, in 
which he brought out with great clearness the point that the 
Constitution places in the hands of the legislatures of the States 
the power of determining how their electors shall be chosen, and 
that Congress had no right to go behind the final decision of a 
State. If there was nothing in the Constitution or laws of a State 
touching the matter, its legislature could appoint Electors, as 
Vermont had done after her admission to the Union. 

Immediately after President Hayes's inauguration the Repub- 
licans in the Ohio Legislature desired to elect General Garfield 
to the United States Senate in place of John Sherman, who had 
resigned his seat to enter the Cabinet. Mr. Hayes made a per- 
gonal appeal to him to decline to be a candidate and remain in 
the House to lead the Republicans in support of the Administra- 
tion. General Garfield acceded, in the belief that his services 
would be of more value to the party in the House than in the 
Senate, and withdrew his name from the canvass, greatly to the 
disappointment of his friends in Ohio, who had already obtained 
pledges of the support of a large majority of the Republicai? 
members of the Legislature. 

In the session of 1878 General Garfield led the long struggle 
in defence of the Resumption act, which was assailed by the 
Democrats with a vigor born of desperation. He also made a 
remarkable speech on the tariff question, in opposition to Wood's 
bill, which sought to break down the protective system. Dur- 
ing the extra session of 1879, forced by the Democrats, for the 
purpose of bringing the issue of the repeal of the federal elec- 
tion laws prominently before the country, General Garfield led 
the Republican minority with consummate tact and judgment. 
The plan of the Democrats was to open the debate with a gen- 
eral attack on the Republican party in order to throw their 
adversaries upon the defensive as apologists for the course 
of their party. McMahon, of Ohio, was selected to make 
the opening speech. Garfield did not wait for him to make his 



4^4 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

argument, but securing the floor ahead of him, delivered his fa- 
mous " Revolution in Congress" speech, in which he attacked 
the Democrats with such vigor and exposed with so much force 
their scheme for withholding appropriations for the support of 
the government, to compel the President to sign their political 
measures, that they were thrown into confusion, and instead of 
taking the offensive were obliged to resort to a weak defensive 
campaign. Driven from position to position by successive vetoes 
and by the persistent assaults of the Republican minority, they 
ended with a ridiculous fiasco. Instead of refusing $45,000,000 
of appropriations, as they threatened at the beginning, they 
ended by appropriating $44,600,000 of the amount, leaving 
only $400,000 unprovided for. The following winter the Demo- 
crats recommenced the fight, but in a feeble, disheartened way. 
They set out to refuse all pay to the United States marshals un- 
less the President would let them wipe out the election laws. 
General Garfield met them with a powerful speech on " Nullifi- 
cation in Congress," in which he showed that while it was 
clearly the foremost duty of the law-makers in Congress to 
obey the Democrats had become leaders in an attempt to dis- 
obey them and break them down. General Garfield's last 
work in Congress was a report on the Tucker Tariff bill. In Jan- 
uary, 1880, General Garfield was chosen to the Senate by the 
Legislature of Ohio for the term of six years, beginning March 
4, 1881. He received the unanimous vote of the Republican 
caucus, an honor never before conferred upon a citizen of Ohio 
by any party. 

HIS NOMINATION AS PRESIDENT. 

Gen. Garfield appeared in the Republican National Con- 
vention at Chicago in June, 1880, at the head of the Ohio 
delegation and as the leading supporter of Secretary Sherman 
for the candidacy. It was evident from the first that he was 
one of the most popular men in the assemblage with the lookers- 
on and visitors. He was put upon the Committee on Rules and 
Orders of Business and was made its Chairman. This com- 
mittee was important on account of the controversy regarding 
what was known as the unit rule. The report which was sub- 
mitted and advocated by him abrogated that rule, but Gen. 
Garfield appeared as a conciliator between the extremes of 
opinion throughout. He desired the withdrawal of Mr. Conk- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 42b 

ling's resolution •which proposed virtually to expel the "West 
Virginia delegates who voted against his pievious resolution 
that all members of the Convention would be in duty bound to 
support the nominee of the Convention, whoever he might be, 
and that no man should retain his seat in the Convention unless 
he was ready to do so. In his appeal in this case he said he 
regretted the action of the West Virginia delegates, but thought 
their explanation should be accepted. He would never himself 
vote in any convention against his judgment. In advocating 
the report of the Committee on Rules, he said that if the unit 
rule was adopted by the Convention he would stand by it, but 
he preferred a rule which would allow individual liberty, 
because it would be everlastingly right. When the time came 
in the protracted proceedings for naming candidates, Gen. Gar- 
field urged the claims of Mr. Sherman in an eloquent speech, 
which drew the character of an ideal statesman, intended to 
apply to his candidate, but generally accepted as more nearly a 
portrait of himself or at least of what he thought a public man 
ought to be. In the voting a single Pennsylvania delegate be- 
gan on the third ballot to cast his vote for Garfield. It was 
sometimes reinforced by one other, but only 2 votes were cast 
for him prior to the thirty-fourth ballot, when to the one from 
Pennsylvania were added 16 from Wisconsin. Gen. Garfield 
arose and questioned the correctness of the vote, declaring that 
his name was not before the Convention and no one had a right 
to vote for him without his consent. The Chairman ruled that 
this was not a point of order, and on the next ballot, Indiana 
added 27, Maryland, 4, and Mississippi and North Carolina, 1 
each to the 17 previously given to him, making 50 in all. On 
the next and last ballot came the stampede which gave him the 
majority, and his unanimous nomination was then moved by 
Mr. Conkling, who expressed the hope that the same zeal, fervor, 
and unanimity that was shown in the Convention would be 
transplanted to the field, and that " all of us who have borne a 
part against each other here will find ourselves with equal zeal 
bearing the banner and carrying the lance of the Republican 
party into the ranks of the enemy." The motion was seconded 
by Messrs. Logan, Beaver, and Hale, on behalf of the supporters 
of those who had been the leading candidates before the Con- 
vention. Gen. Garfield was officially informed of his nomina- 
tion in Chicago on the night of June 9, by Senator Hoar, 



426 Til^ ASSASSINATION OF 

Chairman of the Convention, and accepted it in a brief speech, 
in which he laid special stress on his sense of the " very heavy 
responsibility" involved. Congratulations came in from ail 
quarters, one of the first coming from President Hayes. While 
the nomination was disappointing to those who had with so 
much zeal urged the claims of others, it was generally accepted 
as that most likely to bring all elements of the party into har- 
mony. 

AS A CANDIDATE. 

Gen. Garfield was greeted with enthusiasm on his return home 
from the Convention and during his subsequent visit to Wash- 
ington, which occupied the latter part of June. The canvass 
opened with the meeting of the Republican National Com- 
mittee on the 1st of July. On the 4th the candidate delivered 
a touching address at the dedication of a soldiers' monument at 
Painesville, Ohio. His letter of acceptance dated July 10, was 
made public on the 13th. In some respects it caused dis- 
appointment, and it was in this document that he gave expres- 
sion to the opinion that the President should consult members 
of Congress regarding the qualifications of persons to be 
appointed to office. On the 6th of August a conference of 
Republican leaders was held, and Gen. Garfield was present. 
The candidate returned to his home shortly after the con- 
ference, in which he took no formal part, although he privately 
met the leading managers and workers of the party. On the 
25th of August he attended a reunion of his old regiment 
at Cleveland, delivering one of those happy addresses which 
on such occasions came so easy to him. Aside from attend- 
ing the Northern Ohio Fair at Cleveland, on the 9th of 
September, he spent most of the remaining interval before 
the election at his home in Mentor, receiving many visit- 
ors, singly or in delegations, and being overwhelmed with 
correspondence. A noteworthy incident was the visit of Gen. 
Grant and Mr. Conkling on the 29th of September, the former 
iiaving presided and the latter spoken at a grand rally at War- 
ren on the previous day. It has been said that Mr. Conkling's 
activity in the campaign began after that interview, but his 
speech at the Academy of Music, in New York, was delivered on 
the 17th, and in the interval he had been quite active in 
Indiana and Ohio. The candidate exhibited a constant desire 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 427 

to promote harmony and a cordial co-operation among all the 
leaders of the party. He appeared anxious that his nomination 
should heal all differences. Late in October he was annoyed by 
the forged " Chinese letter," which he promptly denounced in a 
letter to Chairman Jewell, of the National Committee, on the 
23d of that month. 

AFTER THE ELECTION. 

After the election in November he continued to reside as 
before at Mentor, visited by politicians and others, though the 
last week of that month was occupied with a visit to Washing- 
ton on private business. While at the capital he received many 
attentions, among them those of a delegation of civil service 
reformers, who delivered to him a paper setting forth their 
views of his coming duty in making appointments. In his 
reply he expressed the hope that he should have the co-opera- 
tion of Congress in establishing all routine appointments on a 
secure basis, so that no removals could be made without cause. 
Before he left Washington there seemed to be an understanding 
that Mr. Blaine was to have the first place in his Cabinet, and 
that Secretary Sherman preferred not to continue in his posi- 
tion. From that time on to March there was constant specula- 
tion as to the formation of the Cabinet. Mentor was constantly 
visited by advising politicians, seekers for office, and seekers for 
information. Many of the leading men of the Republican 
party went there on invitation of the President-elect, who 
seemed to be anxious to obtain their counsel and to satisfy their 
views, so far as they could be reconciled with each other. His 
chief thought appeared to be for harmony in the party and a 
successful administration resting on its united support. Among 
those summoned to his home to consult with him were Mr. 
Sherman, Mr. Blaine, Mr. Conkling, Judge Folger, and others. 
Gen. Garfield took leave of his friends and neighbors on the 
last day of February and set out for the arduous position that 
awaited him with an evident feeling of solemnity and sadness. 
He arrived in Washington on the 1st of March, and speculation 
continued regarding his Cabinet, but he kept his own counsel, 
so far as the public was concerned, until after the inauguration. 

AS PRESIDENT. 

The President was inaugurated with an unwonted amount of 
display and amid general rejoicing and good wishes. His in- 



4^8 'F^ ASSASSINATION 6P 

augural address was regarded as foreshadowing a firm and 
vigorous administration, a conscientious regard for the best in- 
terests of all sections, and a determination to promote harmony 
and good- will. On the day following the inauguration the 
Cabinet was announced and gave general satisfaction. There 
has been little to test the quality of the President except the 
incidents springing from the exercise of the appointing power. 
Since he took oflHce there had been no session of Congress for 
legislation. The Senate was in session until the 20th of May, 
but its time was chiefly occupied in wrangling over the election 
of its officers. The question of calling an extra session was 
wisely decided in the negative, the plea for extending the matur- 
ing bonds of the government at a lower rate of interest having 
been hit upon. In exercising the appointing power the Presi- 
dent did not uniformly satisfy his sincerest friends. The re- 
newal of the nomination of Stanley Matthews for the Supreme 
Bench was deeply regretted by many of these, and attributed 
to some understanding with President Hayes. The chief inci- 
dent of political interest had been the break with Mr. Conkling 
which had occupied much attention. On the 22d of March 
the President sent a number of nominations for office to the 
Senate, including those for District Attorneys and Marshals in 
this State and for the Collectorship at Buffalo. These were pre- 
sumed to be in all respects acceptable to the Senators of New 
York. On the following day several other nominations were 
sent in, including those of William H. Robertson for Collector 
of New York, Edwin A. Merritt for Consul-General at London, 
and William E. Chandler for Solicitor-General. It was known 
that Mr. Robertson's appointment would be displeasing to Sen- 
ator Conkling, but the President was quoted as declaring that 
he regarded the office as one of national and not local rank, and 
that he had no wish or intention to slight the New York Sen- 
ators. Owing to the dead-lock in the Senate over the election 
of its officers, no executive sessions were held until May 4. It 
then appeared that Senator Conkling was determined to antag- 
onize to the utmost the appointment of Mr. Robertson, on the 
ground that he had a right to be consulted and that no appoint- 
ment displeasing to him should have been made. On the 5th 
of May the President withdrew all the other New York nomina- 
tions with the evident purpose of compelling a separate con- 
sideration of that for the New York Collectorship. It soon be- 



PBESrOENT GARFIELD. 429 

came apparent that this could not be defeated by the New York 
Senators, and on the 16th of May they both resigned. Mr. 
Robertson was shortly after confirmed, the other nominations 
were renewed, except that changes were made in the Marshal- 
ship of this district and the Collectorship of Buffalo, and the 
political fight was transferred to Albany, where the President 
has had no part in it. Further than this the administration 
and the recent life of the President has been uneventful, though 
his sympathy with, and support for, those engaged in exposing 
and punishing the Star Route frauds should be recognized. 

Upon those who ever saw him, President Garfield made a 
commanding impression, his height being six feet, his shoulders 
broad, and his frame strong. The head appeared unusually 
large and the forehead remarkably high. Blue was seen to be 
the color of the eyes and light brown that of the hair. In all 
things he has been temperate. 

HIS HOME AND FAMILY LIFE. 

The first years of General Garfield's married life were passed 
in Hiram, boarding with families of friends, and it was not 
until he went to the war that he saved money enough to buy a 
home. In 1862 he purchased a small frame cottage facing the 
college green, paying for it $800. About $1000 more was spent 
in enlarging it by a wing and fitting it up. The rooms were 
small and the ceilings low, as was the fashion in village houses 
of moderate pretensions, but the young housewife soon made 
the place cosy and homelike. This was the only home of the 
family for many years. While in Washington they lived in 
apartments. The lack of a settled home at the Capital, where 
the children could grow up amid wholesome influences, was 
seriously felt early in General Garfield's Congressional career, 
but it was not until he had been three times elected that he be- 
gan to regard that career as likely to continue for an indefinite 
period, and sought the means of escaping from the disagreeable 
features of hotel and boarding-house life. He bought a lot on 
the corner of Thirteenth and I streets, facing Franklin Square, 
and with money loaned him by an old army friend put up a 
plain, square, substantial brick house, big enough to hold his 
family and two or three guests. As the boys grew older, how- 
ever, and needed more range for their activities than a city 
house could afford, the desire to own 9i farm wh\ch he had 



430 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

always felt increased upon him. When he had paid off the 
mortgage on his house and had a little money ahead, he thought 
he could safely gratify his desire, and after a good deal of 
thought about localities, decided to settle in the vicinity of the 
Lake Shore Railroad on one of the handsome productive ridges 
that run parallel to Lake Erie. A farm of 160 acres was bought 
in the town of Mentor, Lake County, a mile from a railway and 
telegraph station, and half a mile from a post-oflSce. The build- 
ings consisted of a tumble-down barn and an ancient farm-house 
a story and a half high ; but the land was fertile, the summer 
climate, tempered by breezes from the neighboring lake, was 
delightful, and the people in the vicinity were of the best class 
of farmers to be found in Ohio. Here the General revived all 
the farming skill of his boyhood days, holding the plough or 
loading the hay wagon or driving the ox team. Drainage, fenc- 
ing, and other improvements absorbed all the money the place 
brought in, and the time spent upon it was highly enjoyed by 
all the members of the household, and every winter they looked 
forward to the adjournment of Congress and their release from 
Washington with pleasant anticipations. 

General Garfield has had seven children, and five are living. 
The oldest, Mary, died when he was in the army, and the young- 
est, Edward, died in Washington about four years ago. Of the 
surviving children, the oldest, Harry, is fifteen ; after him come 
James, Molly, Irwin (named after General McDowell) and 
Abram. Harry and James are preparing for -college at St. 
Paul's school, in Concord, New Hampshire. Harry is the mu- 
sician of the family and plays the piano well. James, who more 
resembles his father, is the mathematician. Molly, a handsome 
girl of thirteen, is ruddy, sweet-tempered, vivacious, and blessed 
with perfect health. The younger boys are still in the period 
of boisterous animal life. All the children have quick brains 
and are strongly individualized. All learned to read young 
except Abe, who, hearing that his father had years ago said, in 
a lecture on education, that no child of his should be forced to 
read until he was seven years old, took refuge behind the 
parental theory and declined to learn his letters until he had 
reached that age. 

The manner of life in the Garfield household, whether in 
Washington or on the Mentor farm, was simple and quiet. The 
long table was bountifully supplied \yith plainly-cooked food, 



PRESIDENT QARFIELB. 431 

and there was always room for any guest who might drop in 
at meal-time. No alcoholic drinks were used. There was no 
effort at following fashions in furniture or table service. No 
carriage was kept in Washington, but on the farm there were 
vehicles of various sorts and two teams of stout horses. Com- 
fort, neatness, and order prevailed, without the least attempt at 
keeping up with styles of dress and living, or any desire to sac- 
rifice the healthful regularity of household customs, adopted be- 
fore the General won fame and position, to the artificial usages 
of what is called good society. 

Of study in the ancient languages and in history, in spite of 
a most active life, he has been extremely fond, and the house 
in Washington is stored with a handsome collection of books. 
In classical scholarship, it is doubtful if there have been many 
men in public life in his time who could have equalled him if 
put to the test. 



432 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 



THE NEW PEESIDEl^T. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR. 

Chester Alan Arthur, the son of an Irishman named William 
Arthur, was born in Fairfield, Vt., on the 5th of October, 1830. 
After the customary New England schooling he entered Union 
College, in Schenectady, in 1845, and was graduated high up 
on the list four years later. Like his predecessor, Mr. Arthur 
supported himself while in college, and served his apprentice- 
ship in the humble enclosure of a country school-house. After 
two years in a law school and a brief service as principal of the 
North Pownal Academy, in Vermont, Mr. Arthur came to New 
York and entered the law firm of Culver, Paisten & Arthur, 
after which, and until 1865, he was associated here with Mr. 
Henry D. Gardner. The law career of Mr. Arthur includes 
some notable cases. One of his first cases was the celebrated 
Lemmon suit. In 1852 Jonathan and Juliet Lemmon, Virginia 
slaveholders, intending to emigrate to Texas, came to New York 
to await the sailing of a steamer, bringing eight slaves with 
them. A writ of habeas corpus was obtained from Judge Paine 
to test the question whether the provisions of the Fugitive 
Slave Law were in force in that State. Judge Paine rendered a 
decision holding that they were not, and ordering the Lemmon 
slaves to be liberated. Henry L. Clinton was one of the coun- 
sel for the slaveholders. A howl of rage went up from the South, 
and the Virginia Legislature authorized the Attorney -General of 
that State to assist in taking an appeal. William M. Evarts 
and Chester A. Arthur were employed to represent the people, 
and they won their case, which then went to the Supreme Court 
of the United States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slaveholders, but he, too, was beaten by Messrs. Evarts 
and Arthur, and a long step was taken towards the emancipa- 
tion of the black race. Following this came the street car dis- 
courtesies, which Mr. Arthur put a stop to in a legal and defini- 
tive way. On the Sixth Avenue and one or two other lines, 




CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 433 

conveyances labelled " Colored persons allowed in this car" were 
run at long intervals, but on the Fourth Avenue and other east 
side lines not even this provision was made. Under these cir- 
cumstances Lizzie Jennings, a respectable colored woman, neatly 
dressed, cleanly and of good appearance, the superintendent of 
a colored Sunday-school, hailed a Fourth Avenue car and suc- 
ceeded in obtaining a seat in it. The conductor took her fare, 
thereby tacitly admitting her right to be a passenger, but hardly 
had he done so when a drunken white ruffian, who was seated 

in the car, demanded, " Are you going to let that 

nigger ride in this car ?" 

" Oh, I guess it won't make any difference," said the con- 
ductor. 

" Yes, but it will," replied the other ; " I have paid my fare 
and I want a decent ride, and I tell you you've got to put her 
out." 

Thus appealed to the conductor went to the colored woman 
and asked her to leave the car. She refused to do so. The 
car was stopped. The conductor attempted to eject her by 
force. She resisted bravely, crying all the time, " I have paid 
my fare and I am entitled to ride." 

Her dress was almost torn from her back. Strong men stood 
by but gave her no assistance. Still she fought bravely for 
what she believed to be her right. The conductor could not 
eject her, and was compelled to call for the aid of the police. 
By their efforts the woman was dragged from the car. 

The matter coming to the notice of a number of influential 
colored people they desired to make it a test case, and applied 
to Mr. Arthur for advice. He at once espoused their cause and 
took their case before Justice Rockwell, in Brooklyn. When 
the trial came on the court room was crowded almost to suffo- 
cation, and at one time serious trouble was threatened by those 
who believed that to seek justice for one of the black race was 
to do injustice to humanity. 

Even the Judge seemed to share this opinion, for when the 
attorney handed him the papers in the case he threw them upon 
the desk, with the exclamation, 

" Pshaw ! do you ask me to try a case against a corporation 
for the tort [the wrongful act] of its agent ?" 

In reply to this Mr. Arthur plainly pointed out a portion of 
the Revised Statutes under which there was an undoubted riffht 

o 

19 



434 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

of action. After examining it the Court concurred cordially 
with the counsel, the case was tried, and, much to the delight 
of the colored people, a verdict of $500 was rendered in favor 
of the plaintiff. The railroad company paid the judgment 
without further contest, and at once issued orders that there- 
after colored people be allowed to ride upon its cars. Similar 
action was soon after taken by all the city railroad companies. 
At this there was great rejoicing among all the negroes in New 
York, the Colored People's Legal Rights Association was estab- 
lished, and for many years afterward with much ceremony cele- 
brated the anniversary of the trial which resulted as described. 

ARTHUR IN THE WAR. 

At the outbreak of the war Governor Morgan appointed Mr. 
Arthur engineer-in-chief, then inspector-general, and in January, 
1862, quartermaster-general. No higher encomium can be 
passed upon him than the mention of the fact that, although the 
war account of the State of New York was at least ten times 
larger than that of any other State, yet it was the first audited 
and allowed in Washington, and without the deduction of a 
single dollar, while the quartermasters' accounts from other 
States were reduced from $1,000,000 to $10,000,000. During 
his incumbency every present sent to him was immediately re- 
turned. Among others a prominent clothing house offered him 
a magnificent uniform, and a printing house proffered a costly 
saddle and trappings. Both gifts were indignantly rejected. 
When he became quartermaster he was poor. When his term 
expired he was poorer still. He had opportunities to make mil- 
lions unquestioned. Contracts larger than the world had ever 
seen were at his disposal. He had to provide for the clothing, 
arming and transportation of hundreds of thousands of men. 
So jealous was he of his integrity that contracts where he could 
have made thousands of dollars legitimately were refused, on the 
ground that he was a public officer and meant to be, like Caesar's 
wife, above suspicion. His own words in regard to this amply 
illustrate his character : " If I misappropriated a cent and in 
walking down town saw two men talking on the corner together 
I would imagine that they were talking of my dishonesty, and 
the very thought would drive me mad." In July, 1862, he was 
invited to be present at a secret meeting of the loyal governors, 
held in New York, for discussing measures to provide troops to 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 435 

carry on the war. He was the only person present who was 
not a governor, but his counsel and advice were none the less 
heeded on that account. Everything at that time was topsy- 
turvy and everybody upside down. One of the best illustra- 
tions of the lack of management, the haphazard fashion of trans- 
acting important State business, which prevailed during the 
early days of the war, is to be found in the manner in which 
the Ellsworth Zouaves were equipped and left New York. The 
regiment in question was made up of men who prided them- 
selves upon their strength, drill and daring. It was, so to speak, 
an army unto itself, and under the independent system of or- 
ganization already explained, comprised not only a full comple- 
ment of infantry companies, but also a battery of light artillery 
and a troop of cavalry. All the infantry companies were not 
only armed differently, as they desired, but they contained, in 
some cases, 120 men, or fifty more than was, at the time, the 
regulation complement. So armed, about one thousand three 
hundred men in all, they were on their way down Broadway, 
after having received, amid great enthusiasm, a stand of colors, 
when orders were received through General Arthur from the 
War Department at Washington to the effect that the regiment 
could not be mustered into the service or leave the city until it 
had reduced and equalized its companies. 

In pursuance of this command General Arthur, acting as 
quartermaster-general, issued instructions countermanding his 
original order for furnishing the troops with supplies while en 
route from New York to the South. The officers of the regi- 
ment, however, paid no attention to the order from Washington 
further than to beg General Wool, the United States command- 
ant, to rescind it. To their petition was added that of many 
influential citizens and ladies. General Wool gave the neces- 
sary permission, the regiment marched on board the troop ship, 
and it steamed down the harbor. 

Of this occurrence the Quartermaster-General was not in- 
formed for nearly an hour after the sailing of the ship ; then 
an officer came into his headquarters and said casually, 

" Well, the Firemen Zouaves have got off at last." 

" Got off !" cried Arthur, in astonishment ; " that's not possi- 
ble. Orders have been received from Washington forbidding 
them to leave, and there is not a pound of provisions of any 
sort on the troop ship." 



436 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

This was only too true. The regiment had actually put to 
sea without food sufficient for one man for a day. But the 
Quartermaster-General was equal to the emergency. In fifteen 
minutes he put himself in communication with an extensive 
contractor, made him an allowance of fifteen cents extra for 
each ration, and ordered him to hire every tug he could lay 
hands on, secure rations for 1300 men for five days, and hurry 
down the bay after the transport. This was done, and the troop 
ship, the officers of which had discovered the condition of their 
larder, having stopped on the way, was overtaken at the Nar- 
rows. The supplies were put on board and the same night the 
regiment was at last " off for the seat of war." 

In the present days of peace and prosperity very few people 
realize that the city of New York in the spring of 1862 was 
threatened with total destruction. One Sunday morning during 
the period in question General Gustavus Loomis, who was then 
the oldest infantry officer in the United States regular service, 
flushed and out of breath, hurried into the Inspector-General's 
office, then occupied by Chester A. Arthur. For a moment he 
was unable to speak, and Arthur, offering him a chair, asked : 

" What in the world has happened, General ?" 

" The rebel ram Merrimac ! the rebel ram Merrimac !" inco- 
herently gasped the other. 

" Well, what about her ?" 

" I have a dispatch from General McClellan that she has sunk 
two United States ships — that she is coming to New York to 
shell the city — may be expected at any moment — I am so out 
of breath running to tell you the news I can hardly speak." 

" Running to tell me the news !" exclaimed Arthur. " Why 
in heaven didn't you hire a carriage ?" 

" Hire a carriage !" replied the old army officer, lifting his 
hands in amazement; *'hire a carriage! why, that would cost 
me $2.50. I can't afford to spend so much out of my own 
pocket, and if I made such an expenditure on account of the 
government it would take all the rest of my official life to 
explain why I did so." 

There was very much more truth than poetry in the latter 
part of General Loomis's remark. In those early days of the 
war it is a matter of record that an expenditure of $2.50 by 
an army officer for an irregular purpose, of no matter what 
character, and involving no matter what momeBtous results. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 437 

would have furnished months of employment to half a dozen 
clerks in the War Department. 

The State officers were not so bound by red tape, and when, 
in addition to his first communication. General Loomis informed 
General Arthur that McClellan had ordered him to place liis 
shore batteries in position, and send vessels to the Lower Bav 
to watch for the appearance of the enemy, the latter lost no 
time in sending dozens of messengers in carriages in all direc- 
tions to see that the order was carried out. 

Unfortunately, however, prompt action on the part of the 
Inspector-General availed but little, for it was soon discovered 
that New York, for all practical purposes, was absolutely 
defenceless against such a naval monster as the Merrimac. The 
"shore batteries" spoken of by General McClellan in his 
dispatch did not exist. There were no heavy cannon in posi- 
tion on the so-called fortifications, and nearly all the cannon in 
the defences at the Narrows were marked " Shell guns," indi- 
cating that they could not be used to throw solid shot, and, as 
Loomis assured the Lispector-General, even for these guns there 
were not two rounds of powder in the harbor magazines. To 
remedy this alarming condition of things General Arthur set 
to work with every possible energy. All the available militia 
companies were put into the harbor forts, and a powder 
schooner arriving providentially from Connecticut, ample ammu- 
nition was soon served out. Luckily, as the event proved, all 
these precautions were unnecessary, for a few hours after the 
arrival of the first alarming news — news which never reached 
the general public, which on that bright spring Sunday was 
represented by crowds of well-dressed people on the principal 
avenues — General Arthur received a dispatch from General 
McClellan telling him that the Merrimac had been sunk by the 
Monitor, and that the danger to New York was passed. 

At the end of Governor Morgan's term General Arthur re- 
turned to his law practice, and lucrative business soon poured 
in. Much of this work consisted in the collection of war claims 
and the drafting of important bills for speedy legislation. He 
was also counsel to the Tax Commission, with a salary of $10,000. 
In 1871 he formed the firm of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ran- 



438 TEE ASSASSINATION OJF 



IN POLITICS. 

It was in the year 1856 that Mr. Arthur began to be prom- 
inent in politics in New York City. He sympathized with the 
Whig party, and was an ardent admirer of Henry Clay. His 
first vote was cast in 1852 for Winfield Scott for President. In 
New York City Arthur identified himself with the " practical 
men" in politics by joining political associations of his party, 
and at the polls acting as inspector on election day. The in- 
spectors were then elected each year, and prominent citizens 
were willing to serve. 

General Arthur was a delegate to the convention at Saratoga 
that founded the Republican party. During these political 
labors he became acquainted with Edwin D. Morgan and gained 
his ardent friendship. Governor Morgan, when re-elected in 
1860, testified to his high esteem of Arthur by making him 
Engineer-in-Chief on his staff. Mr. Arthur had for several years 
previously taken a great interest in the militia organization of 
the State, and had been appointed Judge- Advocate-General of 
the Second Brigade. In this position he was associated with 
many men who afterward took part in the war of the Rebellion 
and held high positions. Brigadier-General Yates, who com- 
manded the Second Brigade, was a very thorough disciplinarian, 
and for several years required all the brigade and staff officers 
to meet every week for instruction. In this manner they be- 
came very proficient in military tactics on regulations, and the 
instruction proved to be of inestimable advantage to General 
Arthur in the responsible duties to which he was afterward 
called. In 1861 he was advanced to the position of Quarter- 
master-General, which he held until the expiration of Morgan's 
term of office. 

INSPECTOR-GENERAL. 

In February, 1862, Arthur was appointed Inspector-General, 
there being duty to perform with the armies in the field. In 
May, 1862, he went to Fredericksburg and inspected the New 
York troops under the command of General McDowell. He 
then went to the Army of the Potomac, lying near Chickahom- 
iny, and there carefully inspected the New York troops. In 
June of the same year the affairs of the country looked desper- 
ate. There had been defeats, regiments were getting thinned 



PRESIDENT QABFIELD. 439 

out, and it was evident a great levy would have to be made. 
Governor Morgan telegraphed General Arthur to return to New 
York. He did so, and was immediately requested to act as sec- 
retary at a secret meeting of the governors of loyal States, held 
at the Astor House on June 28, 1862. At this meeting Presi- 
dent Lincoln was requested by the governors to call for more 
men. President Lincoln, on July 1, issued a proclamation 
thanking the governors for their patriotism and calling for 
300,000 volunteers and 300,000 militia for nine months' service. 
Private knowledge that such a call was to be issued would have 
enabled contractors to have made millions. The secret was kept 
by all, however, till the proclamation was issued. The quota of 
New York under the caU for 300,000 volunteers was 59,705. It 
was desired that these sixty regiments should be recruited and 
got to the seat of war at the earliest possible moment. In view 
of the fact that the greater part of the labor would fall upon the 
Quartermaster's Department, the request was made by Governor 
Morgan to Mr. Arthur that he should take his old post. He 
complied, and on July 7, 1862, again became Quartermaster- 
General and set energetically to work. He devised a new sys- 
tem for enlisting and caring for the troops, which was found to 
work very successfully. He established a camp in each one of 
the thirty-two senatorial districts of the State. The incoming 
of a Democratic State administration deprived him of his office 
in December, 1863. 

COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS. 

Upon his retirement from office General Arthur resumed the 
active duties of his profession. His partnership with Mr. Gard- 
ner ceased only with that gentleman's death in 1866. Alone 
for over five years he carried on his law practice. It then be- 
came so large that he formed in 1871 the now well known firm 
of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom. He became counsel to 
the Department of Taxes and Assessment, at a salary of $10,000 
yearly, but abruptly resigned the position when the Tammany 
Hall officials at the head of the New York departments attempt- 
ed to coerce the Republicans connected with those departments. 
Gradually he was drawn into political life again. He was very 
much interested in promoting the first election of President 
Grant, being chairman of the Central Grant Club of New York. 
He also served as chairman of the Executive Committee of the 



440 THE A8SA88INATI0N OF 

Republican State Committee of New York. He re-entered 
official life on November 20, 1871, being appointed Collector of 
tlie Port of New York by President Grant. So satisfactory was 
his work that upon the close of his term of office in December, 
1875, he was renominated by President Grant. The nomina- 
tion was unanimously confirmed by the Senate without referring 
it to a committee — a compliment never given before except to 
ex-senators. He was removed by President Hayes on July 12, 
1878, despite the fact that two special committees made search- 
ing investigation into his administration, and both reported 
themselves unable to find anything upon which to base a charge 
against him. In their pronunciamentos announcing the change, 
both President Hayes and Secretary Sherman bore official wit- 
ness to the purity of his acts while in office. A petition for his 
retention was signed by every judge of every court in the city, 
by all the prominent members of the bar, and by nearly every 
importing merchant in the collection district, but this General 
Arthur himself suppressed. 

VICE-PRESIDENT. 

General Arthur then re-engaged in the practice of his profes- 
sion as a partner in the law firm of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & 
Ransom. In the fall of 1879 he was elected Chairman of the 
Republican State Committee, of which he had been a prominent 
member for many years before his appointment as Collector, 
and conducted the victorious campaign of that year, which 
ended in the election of all but one of the ' candidates of the 
Republican party for six State offices. In June, 1880, he was 
nominated for Vice-President by the National Republican Con- 
vention, held at Chicago ; General Stewart L. Woodford pro- 
posed his name in the Convention, and the nomination was 
seconded by ex-Governor Dennison, of Ohio; General Kilpat- 
rick, of New Jersey ; Emery A. Storrs, of Illinois ; John Cessna, 
of Pennsylvania ; Chauncey L. Filley, of Missouri, and many 
others. He was elected in November and took the oath of 
office on the 4th of March last. 

His bearing, as presiding officer of the Senate, produced a 
pronounced impression, and during the exciting scenes that 
followed the dignity of his manner and the fairness of his rulings 
won him the regard and admiration of the entire body. As a 
devoted friend of Senator Conkling General Arthur took great 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 441 

interest and an active part in the senatorial contest in Albany, 
and it was at the close of a peculiarly taxing week of work in 
his friend's interest that he was informed of the deplorable event 
that opened the door to his own promotion. 

General Arthur was married in 1859 to Ellen Lewis Herndon, 
of Fredericksburg, Ya. She was a daughter of Captain William 
Lewis Herndon, U. S. N., who in 1851-2 gained world-wide 
fame as commander of the naval expedition sent by the United 
States to explore the river Amazon. The heroic death of Cap- 
tain Herndon, while in command of the United States mail 
steamship Central America, some twenty yea^s ago, is still fresh 
in the memory of many, and was one of the noble deeds of 
which the American navy will always be proud. Mrs. Arthur 
died suddenly in the early part of January, 1880, leaving two 
children — Chester Alan Arthur, and Ellen Herndon Arthur. 

On the death of the President the following telegram was 
sent to him, requesting him to take the oath of oflBce as Presi- 
dent : 

"Long Branch, September 19, 12 a.m. 
" To Hon. Chester A. Arthur : 

" It becomes our painful duty to inform you of the death 
of President Garfield, and to advise you to take the oath of 
office as President of the United States without delay. If it 
concur with your judgment, we will be very glad if you will 
come here on the earliest train to-morrow morning. 

" William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury, 

" William H. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy, 

" Thomas L. James, Postmaster-General, 

" Wayne MacVeagh, Attorney-General, 

" L. J. KiRKWooD, Secretary of the Interior." 

GENERAL ARTHUr's REPLY. 

The following response from General Arthur was received by 
Attorney-General MacVeagh in answer to the above dispatch 
announcing the death of the President : 

" I have your telegram, and the intelligence fills me with pro- 
found sorrow. Express to Mrs. Garfield my deepest sympathy. 

" C. A. Arthur." " 

In accordance with the desire of the Cabinet officers Vice- 
President Arthur took steps to be sworn in as President at once 
19* 



44S THE A8SAS8tNATI0]Sf OP 

— and at 1 o'clock in the morning District- Attorney Rollins, 
Police Commissioner French and Mr. Elihu Root left President 
Arthur's residence in Lexington Avenue, New York, and pro- 
ceeded up that street. At 2 o'clock Mr. Rollins and Mr. Root 
returned in a carriage in company with Judge John R. Brady. 
The gentlemen were at once admitted, and Colonel J. C. Reed, 
the private secretary of General Arthur, appeared shortly after- 
ward. 

About half an hour later Commissioner French arrived at the 
house with Judge Donohue. 

THE OATH ADMINISTERED. 

The entire party proceeded to General Arthur's front parlor, 
where the new President was found. Judge Brady greeted the 
General very warmly, and after a short conversation, the Judge 
took from a table near by a book containing the oath of fealty 
to the government, and administered it to the successor of Gen- 
eral Garfield as follows : 

" I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States ; and will, to the best of my 
ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the 
United States." 

OVERCOME BY EMOTION. 

tn the room at the time were Judge Donohue, Commissioner 
French, Elihu Root and Colonel Reed. The ceremony was sim- 
ple, but not impressive. President Arthur's manly form tow- 
ered above all, and he was evidently deeply affected. Several 
times he left the room, being unable to control his emotion. 
Judge Brady and Judge Donohue were also almost overcome 
by sympathy with both the deceased and living Presidents. 

The room in which the new President took the oath of office 
Is shelved with books. In the centre is a table, and the carpet 
is rich and dark. Paintings by old Italian masters, in Floren- 
tine frames, adorn the walls, and a bust of Henry Clay is in the 
tjorner, nearest one of the windows. The furniture is covered 
with white cretonne, and easy chairs and sofas abound. 

Immediately after taking the oath President Arthur sank 
into one of the chairs in the room and buried his face in his 
hands. He was thoroughly overcome. 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 443 

After a few minutes he arose and went up to the second 
floor, and the visitors departed at about 3 a.m. 

THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT ARTHUR AT WASHINGTON. 

On the 22d day of September, at noon, there was a quiet and 
impressive scene in the Capitol, when President Arthur again 
took the oath of office and delivered a short inaugural address. 
The President had arisen at 7 o'clock in the morning, and after 
breakfast had received many callers. Among these were all 
the members of the Cabinet and several senators and repre- 
sentatives. The house in which the President is staying is near 
the Capitol and directly south of it. Only one street and the 
Capitol grounds lie between the dead Chief Magistrate and his 
living successor. The arrangements for the second taking of 
the oath had been very quietly made, and Sergeant-at-Arms 
Bright, of the Senate, had been directed to put in order the 
Vice-President's room, which is just in the rear of the Senate 
Chamber. Members of the Cabinet, senators, members of the 
House of Representatives, and a few other prominent persons 
had been invited to attend. A few minutes before 12 o'clock 
the President left Senator Jones's house, accompanied by ex- 
President Grant, Senator Jones, and several members of the 
Cabinet, and was taken in a carriage to the basement entrance 
of the Senate wing of the Capitol on the east side. The corri- 
dors leading to the foot of the private staircase reserved for the 
use of senators were deserted, having been cleared of all per- 
sons who had not been invited to witness the ceremony. The 
President and his companions proceeded to the Vice-President's 
room, and in a few minutes they were followed by others who 
had been invited. First came Secretary Windom and Secretary 
Lincoln and several members of the House. Secretary Blaine 
and Gen. Sherman in full uniform were then admitted. The 
next to come was ex-President Hayes, who was followed at 
12.10 o'clock by Chief- Justice Waite, in his judicial robes, and 
Associate-Justices Harlan and Matthews, The Clerk of the 
Supreme Court brought in a small Bible, which he placed on a 
table in the centre of the room. Those who were present were 
standing in little groups silently awaiting the ceremony. 

Very soon after his arrival, Chief-Justice Waite advanced to 
the side of the President, and the spectators formed in a circle 
around the table near which the President stood. The Chief- 



444 ^HE ASSASSmATION OF 

Justice raised tlie Bible from the table, opened it, and passed 
it to the President, who placed his right hand upon the printed 
page. The Chief-Justice then slowly administered the oath, 
with his eyes upon the face of the President, who kissed the 
book and 'responded, " I will, so help me God." Near the 
President stood ex-President Grant, looking down, with his 
hands clasped behind him. At one side were Secretary Blaine 
and Justice Harlan, Attorney-General MacVeagh, and Secretary 
Lincoln. Facing the President, on his right was ex-President 
Hayes, and further away stood Senator John Sherman, with 
bowed head. On the other side were Senators Edmunds, Hale, 
Blair, Dawes, and Anthony, and Representatives Amos Town- 
send, McCook, Errett, Hiscock, and Thomas, ex-Senator Hamlin, 
Speaker Randall, and others. Speaker Sharpe and Col. George 
Bliss of New York, were also present. 

As soon as the oath had been administered the Chief-Justice 
retired from the table and took a place in the circle of specta- 
tors. The President then drew from the inner pocket of his 
coat a roll of manuscript and read the following address : 

For the fourth time in the history of the Republic its Chief 
Magistrate has been removed by death. All hearts are filled 
with grief and horror at the hideous crime which has darkened 
our land, and the memory of the murdered President, his pro- 
tracted sufferings, his unyielding fortitude, the example and 
achievements of his life and the pathos of his death will forever 
illumine the pages of our history. For the fourth time the 
officer elected by the people and ordained by the Constitution 
to fill a vacancy so created is called to assume the Executive 
chair. The wisdom of our fathers, foreseeing even the most 
dire possibilities, made sure that the government should never 
be imperilled because of the uncertainty of human life. Men 
may die, but the fabric of our free institutions remains un- 
shaken. No higher or more assuring proof could exist of the 
strength and permanence of popular government than the fact 
that, though the chosen of the people be struck down, his consti- 
tutional successor is peacefully installed without shock or strain, 
except the sorrow which mourns the bereavement. All the 
noble aspirations of my lamented predecessor which found 
expression in his life, the measure devised and suggested during 
his brief administration to correct abuses and enforce economy, 
to advance prosperity and promote the general welfare, to en- 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 445 

sure domestic security and maintain friendly and honorable 
relations with the nations of the earth, will be garnered in the 
hearts of the people, and it will be my earnest endeavor to profit 
and to see that the nation shall profit by his example and ex- 
perience. Prosperity blesses our country ; our fiscal policy as 
fixed by law is well grounded and generally approved ; no 
threatening issue mars our foreign intercourse, and the wisdom, 
integrity and thrift of our people may be trusted to continue 
undisturbed the present assured career of peace, tranquillity, 
and welfare. The gloom and anxiety which have enshrouded 
the country must make repose especially welcome now. No 
demand for speedy legislation has been heard ; no adequate oc- 
casion is apparent for an unusual session of Congress. The Con- 
stitution defines the functions and powers of the Executive as 
clearly as those of either of the other two departments of the 
government, and he must answer for the just exercise of the 
discretion it permits and the performance of the duties it im- 
poses. Summoned to these high duties and responsibilities, 
and profoundly conscious of their magnitude and gravity, I as- 
sume the trust imposed by the Constitution, relying for aid on 
Divine guidance and the virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of 
the American people. 

At times his voice trembled, but his manner was dignified 
and impressive, and when he referred to the administration of 
his predecessor and his intention to profit by his example, he 
raised his eyes from the manuscript and spoke directly to his 
hearers. While he was reading many eyes were moistened with 
tears. The first to take the President by the hand after the 
ceremony and express sympathy and a wish that he might be 
successful was the Chief-Justice ; the next was Secretary Blaine, 
and the third was ex-President Hayes. Ex-President Grant 
was one of the last. The remaining members of the Cabinet 
and the representatives came up in the order in which they had 
been standing. Then the two ex-Presidents quietly left the 
room and walked towards the rotunda. At first they had some 
difficulty in passing the guard, but as soon as they were recog- 
nized they were admitted. They then passed up to the cata- 
falque, looked at the face of their unfortunate successor, and 
soon afterward departed from the Capitol. 

A few minutes after the delivery of the President's address 
the room was closed to all except members of the Cabinet, who 



446 TEE ASSASSINATION OF 

then held a conference with the President. At this conference 
a proclamation was prepared and signed by the President, 
designating a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer through- 
out the country, in the following words : 

By the President of the United States of America : 

A PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, In his inscrutable wisdom it has pleased God to 
remove from us the illustrious head of the nation, James A. 
Garfield, late President of the United States, and, 

Whereas, It is fitting that the deep grief which fills all hearts 
should manifest itself with one accord toward the throne of 
infinite grace, and that we should bow before the Almighty and 
seek from him that consolation in our affliction and that sancti- 
fication of our loss which he is able and willing to vouchsafe. 

Now, therefore, in obedience to sacred duty, and in accord- 
ance with the desire of the people, I, Chester A. Arthur, Presi- 
dent of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Mon- 
day next, the twenty-sixth day of September — on which day 
the remains of our honored and beloved dead will be consigned 
to their last resting-place on earth — to be observed throughout 
the United States as a day of humiliation and mourning ; and I 
earnestly recommend all the people to assemble on that day in 
their respective places of divine worship, there to render alike 
their tribute of sorrowful submission to the will of Almighty 
God, and of reverence and love for the memory and character 
of our late Chief Magistrate. In witness whereof I have here- 
unto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be 
affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington the 2 2d day of September, 
in the year of our Lord 1881, and of the independence of the 
United States the one hun^dred and sixth. 

(Signed) Chester A. Arthur. 

[Seal.] By the President. 

James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, 



fBESIDMtif GABFIELl). 447 



ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN. 



The shooting of President Garfield naturally recalls the assas 
sination of President Abraham Lincoln. It will be interesting, 
therefore, to recite the scenes attending that event. 

It was on the evening of Friday, April 14, 1865, that Presi- 
dent and Mrs. Lincoln, with Miss Mary Harris and Major Rath- 
bun, of Albany, son-in-law of Senator Harris, visited Ford's 
Theatre, at Washington, for the purpose of witnessing "The 
American Cousin," which was running at the theatre. The fact 
that this distinguished party was to be present at the perform- 
ance had been duly announced in all the local papers, and the 
theatre was densely crowded. The Presidential party occupied^ 
a box on the second tier. The scene was a brilliant one, and all 
went merrily with the audience and actors alike until the close 
of the third act, when the sharp report of a pistol was heard, 
and an instant afterwards a man was seen to spring from the 
President's box to the stage, where, striking a tragic attitude and 
brandishing a long dagger in his right hand, he cried out, " Sic 
semper tyrannis!^'' and then, amid the bewilderment of the 
audience, rushed through the opposite side of the stage and 
made his escape from the rear of the theatre. The screams of 
Mrs. Lincoln told the audience but too plainly that the President 
had been shot. All present rose to their feet, and the excite- 
ment was of the wildest possible description. A rush was made 
to the President's box, where, on a hasty examination being 
made, it was found he was shot through the head. The Presi- 
dent was quickly removed to a private house opposite the thea- 
tre, where, on further examination, his wound was pronounced 
to be mortal. This tragic occurrence of course immediately put 
a stop to the performance and the theatre was closed as quickly 
as possible. The assassin, in his hurried flight, dropped his hat 
and a spur on the stage. The hat was identified as belonging to 
J. Wilkes Booth, a prominent actor, and the spur was recognized 
AS one obtained by him at a stable on that day. One or two of 



448 ^SE ASSASSINATION 01^* 

the actors and members of the orchestra declared that the assas- 
sin was no other than Wilkes Booth, and the evidence almost 
momentarily accumulating fixed him beyond a doubt as the 
author of the bloody tragedy. Almost before the audience had 
left the theatre it was known that the assassin, after he got out, 
made his escape on horseback. 

SECRETARY SEWARD's ESCAPE. 

The news of this hideous tragedy spread like wildfire, and the 
greatest excitement prevailed throughout the city, dense throngs 
of persons congregating in the locality of the house where Presi- 
dent Lincoln was lying. While the general excitement was at 
its wildest height, it became known that an attempt had been 
made to assassinate Mr. Seward, Secretary of State. At about 
ten o'clock a man called at the Secretary's house, stating that he 
had been sent by the family physician with a prescription for 
the Secretary, who was sick, at the same time stating that he 
must see him personally, as he was instructed to give particular 
directions concerning the medicine. He pushed his way past 
the servant, who had told him Secretary Seward could not be 
seen, and rushed up stairs to Mr. Seward's room, where he 
was met by the Secretary's son, Mr. Fred Seward, who said he 
would take charge of the medicine. The man dealt him a heavy 
blow, and, rushing past him into Secretary Seward's room, sprung 
upon the Secretary as he lay in bed and stabbed him several 
times in the neck and breast. Major Seward, another of the 
Secretary's sons, rushed to his father's assistance and got badly 
cut in a tussle with the ruffian, who after a hard struggle man- 
aged to escape from the house, and mounting his horse he had 
left at the door, galloped off, shouting out, " Sic semper tyran- 
nise Surgeon-General Barnes was immediately sent for, and 
pronounced the Secretary's and Major Seward's wounds not 
fatal, but the injuries which the desperado had inflicted on 
Frederick Seward and the servant of the house were considered 
more serious. When it was known that Secretary Seward was 
not dangerously wounded the general anxiety was centred on 
President Lincoln, and while the scene in the streets was one of 
the wildest excitement and confusion, within the chamber where 
President Lincoln was lying all was sadness and stillness. Sev- 
eral members of the Cabinet had hastened to his side. Medical 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 449 

and surgical aid were obtained, and everything was done to re- 
lieve the suffering President. It was soon ascertained, however, 
that it was impossible for him to survive, the only question being 
how long he would linger. All through the weary hours of the 
night and early morning the President lay unconscious, as he 
had been ever since his assassination. He was watched by sev- 
eral faithful friends, in addition to near relatives. At his bed- 
side were the Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary 
of the Interior, Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General ; 
Senator Sumner, General Farnsworth, General Todd, cousin to 
Mrs. Lincoln ; Major Hay, M. B. Field, General Halleck, Major 
General Meigs, Rev. Dr. Gurley, George Oglesby, of Illinois, 
and Drs. E. N. Abbott, R. K. Stone, C. D. Hatch, Neal, Hall, 
and Lieberman. 

MRS. Lincoln's grief. 

In the adjoining room were Mrs. Lincoln, her son. Captain 
Robert Lincoln, Miss Harris, Rufus S. Andrews, and two lady 
friends of Mrs. Lincoln. Mrs. Lincoln was under great excite- 
ment and agony, exclaiming again and again, " Why did he not 
shoot me instead of my husband ?" She was constantly going 
back and forth to the bedside of the President, crying out in 
greatest agony, " How can it be so !" The scene was heart- 
rending in the extreme, and all were greatly overcome. Mrs. 
Lincoln took her last leave of her husband about twenty minutes 
before his death. When she was told he had breathed his last 
she exclaimed, "Oh! why did you not tell me he was dying?" 
The surgeons and members of the cabinet. Senator Sumner, 
Captain Robert Lincoln, General Todd, Mr. Field, and Mr. 
Andrews were standing at his bedside when he died. The 
surgeons were sitting on the foot of the bed holding the Presi- 
dent's hands and with watches observing the slow declension of the 
pulse, and such was the stillness for some few minutes that the 
ticking of the watches could be heard in the room. At twenty- 
two minutes past seven a.m. on April 15, the looked for but 
dreaded end came, and as he drew his last breath the Rev. Dr. 
Gurley offered up a fervent prayer for the deceased's heartbroken 
family and his mourning country. The President died without 
a struggle, passing calmly and silently away, having been in a 
state of utter unconsciousness from the time he was shot till his 
death. All present in the silent death chamber felt the awful 



450 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

solemnity of tlie occasion, and the scene was heartrending and 
touching. Mrs. Lincoln, shortly after her husband's death, was 
driven, with her son Robert, to the White House, where, but 
the evening before, she left for the last time with her honored 
husband, who was never again to enter that home alive. 

Long before the President expired the authorities were per- 
fectly satisfied as to who committed the terrible deeds, and the 
city and military authorities commenced investigation, and while 
the Cabinet and other Ministers were watching over the Presi- 
dent every effort was made to capture the murderers. Couriers 
mounted on fleet horses rushed to and fro, and the sound of the 
hoofs of the horses was heard in all directions. The city and 
military authorities worked with energy and vigilance, and the 
tidings at last came that one of the horses had been captured, 
nearly exhausted, at the outskirts of the city, and that its bridle 
was covered with blood. The animal was identified as the horse 
ridden by the assassin from Seward's residence. This gave a 
good deal of hope that the author of the horrible crime might be 
captured. 



The news of the President's death fell like a pall over the city, 
and before long every house was draped in mourning. It seemed 
that all were engaged in the sad tribute to the departed. The 
department buildings were tastefully draped, the War Depart- 
ment being literally covered. The pillars and the entire front 
were richly festooned with black. The hotels, private residences, 
and places of business were also appropriately dressed. In short, 
a mantle of gloom was thrown over the entire national capital. 
Flags from the departments and throughout the city floated at 
hall-mast, and nearly all private and public business was sus- 
pended. The grief felt was wide-spread and the deepest gloom 
and sadness prevailed on all sides. The President's corpse was 
removed to the White House before noon, and a dense crowd 
accompanied the remains. After an autopsy had been made on 
the corpse it was embalmed and placed in a handsome mahogany 
coflin, on which was a silver plate bearing the inscription : 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 

Sixteenth President of the United States 

Born February 12, 1809. 

Died April 15. 1865 



PnmiDENT QAHFIELB, 451 

In the evening city councils, clergy, and others held meetings 
to officially express regret at the President's death. Although 
nothing was talked of during the day but the atrocious assassi- 
nation and attempted assassination made by secession sympathizers 
and desperadoes, there was no disturbance of any kind, and by 
night time the streets were quiet and the excitement gradually 
subsiding. In the mean time every effort was being made to 
capture the assassins. Every road leading out of Washington 
was strongly picketed and every avenue of escape thoroughly 
guarded, and steamboats about to start down the Potomac were 
stopped. A rumor prevailed that Wilkes Booth had been cap- 
tured, and this helped to keep the indignation of the people as 
fierce as ever and to keep up the excitement, though the rumor 
turned out to be without foundation. 

THE NORTH IN MOURNING. 

Sunday, the 16th, was a solemn and mournful day in Wash- 
ington, as also in every city in the States. The churches 
were crowded, and not a sermon was preached but the tragic 
occurrence was touchingly alluded to. During this day it was 
learned that all members of the Seward family were recovering 
from their injuries, and general satisfaction was expressed that 
Secretary Seward had not fallen a victim to the assassin's blow. 
The interior of the White House all day presented a scene of 
overwhelming sadness. The body of the Chief Magistrate of 
the nation was temporarily laid out in one of the upper rooms of 
the house. The body was dressed in the suit of plain black 
worn by him on the occasion of his last inauguration, while on 
his pillow and over the breast were scattered affectionate offer- 
ings in the shape of white flowers and green leaves. During the 
evening it was made known that the funeral services would take 
place on Wednesday, the 19th, and that the President's body 
would be interred at Springfield, 111. On Monday the person 
who assaulted Secretary Seward was arrested as he was about to 
enter the house of Mrs. Surrattin the little village of TJniontown. 
An intense excitement prevailed when it was learned that 
detectives were on Booth's track. Several person supposed to 
be concerned in these murderous outrages were placed under 
arrest. On Monday the body of the murdered President lay in 
state in the coffin, which was placed on a grand catafalque 
•rected in the East Room of the White House. The room was 



452 THE ASSASSINATION OF 

heavily draped m mourning, and a guard of honor surrounded 
the coffin. The populace by thousands gathered at the White 
House and there viewed the body. The trains during the night 
and morning brought hundreds of distinguished visitors to the 
city from all portions of the North. All the streets leading to 
the White House were thronged with people from early mom 
till late at night, wending their way to the spot where rested the 
sarcophagus in w^hich was confined the cold and motionless form 
of him who but a few days since had hold of the helm of the 
ship of State. The universality of the mourning was remark- 
able. Old and young, rich and poor, all sexes, grades, and 
colors, united in paying their homage to the great and illustrious 
dead ; and one of the most touching sights was that of the 
wounded soldiers from the hospitals, who came to have a long, 
last look at the face of the late President and honored com- 
mander-in-chief. 

THE FUNERAL SERVICES. 

On Wednesday morning a funeral service was held at the 
White House, at which were present a large number of clergy- 
men, representing various sections of the country. The heads 
of bureaus, the sanitary and Christian commissions, the Govern- 
ors, assistant secretaries, Congressmen, officers of the Supreme 
Court, the diplomatic corps, the judges of the local courts, the 
pall bearers, ladies of the government officials, the chief mourn- 
ers. President Johnson and Cabinet, the members of the family, 
and the ushers. The whole scene presented in the room was 
one of solemnity, and a single feeling appeared manifest among 
all, and that was grief. The services were conducted by Rev. 
Dr. Hall, of the Episcopal Church, in the city, and the funeral 
oration was delivered by Rev. Dr. Gurley, pastor of the Presby- 
terian church in the city which Mr. Lincoln and his family were 
in the habit of attending. At the close of these services the 
funeral cortege started for the Capitol. Every window, house- 
top, balcony, and every inch of sidewalk on either side was 
densely crowded with a living throng to witness the procession. 
The beat of the funeral drum sounded upon the street, and the 
cortege marched with solemn tread and arms reversed. The 
procession consisted of a large military escort, including a body 
of dismounted officers of the army and navy and marine corps. 
Following these came the civic authorities, and after them the 



PRESIDENT GARFIELD. 453 

funeral car, drawn by six gray horses. A long line of sad and 
weeping relatives of the deceased followed in carriages. Next 
came President Johnson, accompanied by Mr. Preston King, of 
New York, with a strong cavalry guard on either side. The rest 
of the procession consisted of the Cabinet and diplomatic corps, 
judges of the Supreme Court, and clerks of the departments, and 
was closed by 1,500 well dressed negroes of various organizations. 
The procession was one hour and a half passing a giving point ; it 
contained 18,000 persons, and was witnessed by at least one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand people. After the body had been placed 
in the Capitol, Rev. Dr. Gurley read the burial service, at the 
close of which the outside procession gradually dispersed. The 
body of the late President lay in state in the Capitol all that day 
and through the night, attended by a guard of honor, and viewed 
by an immense number of citizens. 

Early on Friday morning, 21st, the body was carried to the 
depot of the Baltimore and Ohio railway, and the distinguished 
party that was to accompany the remains to Springfield, 111., left 
on their sad errand by the half -past seven a.m. train. The route 
was as follows, and the arrangements were all carried out to per- 
fection, there being no delays on the journey: From Washing- 
ton to Baltimore, Baltimore to Harrisburg, Harrisburg to Phila- 
delphia, Philadelphia to New York, New York to Albany, Albany 
to Buffalo, Buffalo to Cleveland, Cleveland to Columbus, Col- 
umbus to Indianapolis, Indianapolis to Chicago, Chicago to 
Springfield. All the towns along the route were draped in 
mourning, and at the cities above mentioned, where the funeral 
train stopped, the coffin was removed from the funeral car and 
borne in solemn and majestic procession through the streets to 
the principal public building in each city, where suitable cere- 
monies were performed, and the sad procession in each city 
witnessed by thousands of citizens and visitors from neighboring- 
towns. The funeral train reached Springfield, 111., on the 4th of 
May, on which day the body of the deceased President was in- 
terred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery amid much funeral pomp 
and ceremony. 

THE ASSASSINS ARRESTED. 

It was some days after the assassination of President Lincoln 
before the indignation of the public was somewhat calmed at 
learning of the arrest of those implicated in the assassination 



454 THE A88A8SmATI0ir OF 

of the President and in the assaults on the Seward family. A 
reward of $50,000 was offered for the arrest of Booth, $25,000 
for the arrest of Atzerot, and a like sum for that of D. C. Har- 
rold, the latter two being known to be specially implicated in 
the assassination and the attempted assassination. Lewis Payne 
was arrested, April 1 7th, at Washington at the house of Mrs. 
Surratt. On being taken before the servant of Mr. Seward's 
house he was immediately recognized as the person who 
attempted to assassinate Secretary Seward. With him were 
arrested Mrs. Surratt and others in the same house. Atzerot 
was arrested on April 20th, near Middlebury, Montgomery county, 
Md. On April 25th J. Wilkes Booth was overtaken by a party 
sent out by Col. L. C. Baker, special detective of the war depart- 
ment. Booth and Harrold had been traced together across the 
Rappahanock river at Mathias Point, Md., and were found on 
Tuesday evening, April 25th, in a barn about three miles from 
Port Royal. The barn was surrounded, and, although Harrold 
was willing to give himself up, Booth refused to surrender. Fi- 
nally the barn was fired. Harrold then gave himself up, but 
Booth prepared to defend himself. Lieutenant Docherty, com- 
manding the party, ordered Sergeant Corbett to fire, which he 
did through one of the crevices, and shot Booth through the 
head. Upon being shot Booth exclaimed, " It is all up now ; Pm 
gone !" He was found to be wounded in his head, and died 
about two hours after he was shot. The other important arrests 
made were Dr. Mudd, at whose house Booth was known to have 
stopped when in Maryland ; Edward Spangler, of Ford's Theatre ; 
Michael O'Laughlin, and Samuel Arnold. These, with Atzerot, 
Harrold, and Mrs. Surratt, were arraigned on Saturday, May l3th, 
and after a lengthy trial, Harrold, Payne, Atzerot, and Mrs. Sur- 
ratt were sentenced to be executed, and were hanged on July 
7th at Washington, 



PBESIDENT GARFIELD. 455 



SHOOTIITG AT JACKSOK 



The shooting of President Garfield by Guiteau on the 2d 
of July brought to mind at once, of course, the terrible details 
accompanying the assassination of President Lincoln by Wilkes 
Booth in 1865, and revived as well recollections of the at- 
tempted assassination of President Jackson in the Capitol at 
Washington on January 30, 1835. The extraordinary similarity 
which exists in the main circumstances attending the murderous 
attacks upon Presidents Jackson and Garfield is remarkable, 
although the former escaped by almost a miracle from the sad 
fate which has overtaken the latter. 

General Jackson had entered in 1832, it will be remembered, 
on his second term as Chief Magistrate, and although his elec- 
tion decisively showed the popularity among the people of both 
Jackson and the political principles of his party, the opposition 
was sufficiently strong in numbers and sufficiently brilliant in 
the eloquence of its leaders to make the President's life anything 
but one of peaceful rest and enjoyment. Jackson's hot impetu- 
osity, his strong personal and political prejudices, and the al- 
most savage fury with which he was at all times ready to attack 
his enemies or defend his friends, served to fan to white heat 
any flame that was started in political matters of those days, and 
the Administration was almost continuously engaged in bitter 
political feuds with its opponents upon the questions of the hour. 
Calhoun, Webster, and Clay used their brilliant powers upon 
more than one occasion with great effect against Jackson, and 
the President's excitable, passionate nature and obstinate deter- 
mination to carry his measures were only intensified by the 
withering attacks made upon him in Congress by these states- 
men and their supporters. The times were troublesome ones 
at best, and party feeling was not quieted by any attempts on 
the part of the Administration to make rough ways smooth or 
by evincing a disposition to give way in its demands. The 
South Carolina nullifiers were a thorn in Jackson's side in their 
demands in regard to the abolition of import duties; the with- 



■lt}{ 



TEE ASSASSINATIOJSr OF 



drawal of deposits from the United States Bank was another 
prolific source of anxiety; the French imbroglio added to the 
cares and political entanglements of the party, and the threatened 
impeachment of the President by the Senate served only to 
magnify the enmity between the administration and its oppo- 
nents. Jackson's naturally stormy, vindictive disposition and 
proneness to abandon words for blows had often brought 
trouble upon him in the past, and great and well appreciated 
as were his public, military, and civic services, he had hosts 
of enemies, some of whom threatened him with personal 
violence. He was as much admired in certain quarters as 
he was thoroughly hated in others, and his ideas of the 
"code of honor" brought him into numerous personal en- 
counters. Two serious public attacks were made upon him 
during the last four years of his Presidency — viz., those by 
Lieutenant Randolph and a man by the name of Lawrence. 
And it is this last to which reference is made as being in a re- 
markable degree similar to that made upon President Garfield 
yesterday, the similarity existing, not in the characters or dis- 
position of the two Presidents, but in the character of the 
would-be assassins and their methods. The President and his 
Cabinet were present in the Capitol with official formality on 
January 30, 1835, to join both houses of Congress and a numer- 
ous body of citizens in ceremonies held in honor of a deceased 
member of the House from South Carolina. The usual cere- 
monies had been concluded, mid the President, accompanied by 
Messrs. Woodbury and Dickson, had crossed the great rotunda 
and were about to step out on the portico when a man emerged 
from the crowd and advanced towards the President. When 
within eight feet of him he drew a pistol,- and, aiming it at the 
President, pulled the trigger before he was aware of the man's 
intention. By a miracle, apparently, the cap missed fire, when 
the man drew another pistol and attempted to fire it, A second 
time the cap missed fire, and Jackson rushed at his assailant and 
disarmed him. Unfortunately for President Garfield, the pistol 
of Guiteau was sure and prompt, and did its work more effect- 
ively than did that of the assailant of President Jackson. The 
man was at once secured, and he gave his name as Lawrence. 
He conducted himself with the same cool indifference that has 
marked Guiteau's behavior since his arrest, and gave much the 
same excuses, saying he was deprived of his employment, and 



PBE8IDENT GARFIELD. 457 

felt it incumbent on him to put the President out of the way by 
assassination, as he regarded the President as the cause of his own 
troubles and the country's political entanglements. The man was 
taken to jail, and his history and connections sought out, when 
it was determined that he was a lunatic on the subject and fixed 
in his determination to kill the supposed author of the diffi- 
culties mentioned. In his cell he remained tranquil and uncon- 
cerned as to the final result. After due legal and medical pro- 
ceedings, Lawrence was finally committed to an asylum. Miss 
Martineau, who was an eye witness of the attempted assassina- 
tion, gives a graphic description of the affair and its public 
effect in her "Retrospect of Western Travel." 



THE END. 



3li.77-l 



